Summer Storm!

I decided to do the Frosted Designs Sketch challenge this week and because two sister I know just became designers, it is extra special to me!  Congrats to Kelly and Erin.

I chose the photos I took last summer when I went camping with a friend during her dog search and rescue training.  I was going to be a hider for all the dogs to try and find.  We set out the night before to get camp all scoped out and set up.  Not long after we got there, this huge storm rolled in.  There was lightning striking down awfully close to where we were so we went and sat in the car.  Two adult, two teens and a German Shepherd!  The storm center was right over the lake where we were setting up and it just swirled around for hours!  It got mighty hot in that car!  Suburban actually, but still!  We were watching the lightning hit the ridge just on the other side of that small lake and, boy let me tell ya, it was close!

By the time it stopped long enough for us to get out, it was dark and it was raining HARD.  We got our tents set up and then we had to dig trenches around them so the water would be diverted around where we were trying to sleep.  It rained... all... night... long!  The blessing in that is the dawn broke with such beauty and the mosquitoes were washed away!  Yay!

Here is the sketch

And here is my take on it.  Notice the rotation on that cloud!  And lightning was striking on the other side of the lake!  Yikes!

And where would I be without a second page ;)

One Day 6/25/11

Whew!  I am very tired today.  I didn't get a lick of scrapping in this weekend (but I did take around 275 photos!) because our church did an outreach work party for one of the local elementary schools in our community.  It was a school that needed some love.  Our Pastor asked the question, "If we had a 100 people sign up, what could we do in one day?"  He went to the school that is just two doors down from where he lives and asked if they had any needs and would they like us to come.  Boy, did they have needs and they were overwhelmed by the desire for people to come work for a day.  We had 140 people from our church sign up, a second, Spanish speaking, church sent people and teachers, administrators and a couple of families from the school also showed up!  We did so much.  The answer to the question, "How much can we do in one day with all of us working together?", is quite a lot!  We did all the outside landscaping, painted a lot of the exterior (the places with graffiti and sun damage), painted the playground structure, re-painted all the parking lines and playground lines, re-painted a map of the US that was almost gone, fixed a planter and landscaped the courtyard, planted new plants in an overgrown area, painted flower pots and gave flowers to the surrounding neighborhood.  We will go back right before school starts and spread bark and spruce things back up for the kids.

Here is the story the news crew did
Malabon Clean-Up Story


And here is a slide show from my photos
One Day 6/25/11 Photo Show

Thanks for looking.  I can't wait to be able to scrap the day!

5 in 1

Wow, I just used a layout for 5, count 'em 5 challenges!  It was a great week to do this since it is crazy!

The Challenge:
Make a layout based on a favorite book or author

I used Seuss.  Who can not love Seuss?  And I thought the title fit perfectly for the subject

The Challenge:
Use one of the quotes, titles or journaling ideas in the back of the May/June Creating Keepsakes mag

I thought the quote from Walt Disney - All our dreams can come true...if we have the courage to pursue them.  was very fitting to someone realizing the end of that pursuit.

The Challenge:
Use cream, red and gray

I actually thought the colors went perfectly with these photos.  The reds in the photos are so vibrant that using the brighter cream and gray really let the pop!

The Challenge:
Use this sketch

I used the sketch for the left hand side of the layout.  I just extended it in my mind and used that great photo my dad took of Kayla looking back at us after she sat down.

The Challenge:
I have been part of a layout lottery.  We choose a number of layouts we want to complete in the quarter's time and post them as we get them done.  I chose 50 and am now over 60!

And here is the all purpose layout!

Oh, The Places You Will Go

This week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch was perfect for the photos of my daughter graduating from college.  She graduated cum laude with a BS in Education.  I am so very proud of her!  I thought the Seuss title was the perfect one for the start of her future!  I would like to thank my father and step-mom for taking the photos for me so I could just sit back and enjoy the day!

Here is the sketch:

And here is my layout using the sketch:

And where would I be without the second page?!?

The "Fight"

I chose these photos to use for this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch because they sketch has a fun, playful feel to it and so do the photos.  They were taken during my daughter's engagement photo shoot and they are just a playful look at conflict.  The wife is always right, right?  He ought to remember this ;)

Here is the sketch

And my layout

And all of you who know me so well, know that I am a two page kinda girl so here is the 2 page version!

Congrats Card

I needed to make a congratulations card for a grad party on Saturday.  I still had the mess out from making the Engaged layout so I just decided to use the leftovers to make the card.  I even used elements from the sketch for the card.  I found a really pretty sentiment on my Paper Lace Cricut cartridge too.

#1 Dad

I hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day!  I did.  I worked on TRW (The Royal Wedding) invitations all day but I was at my dad's :)  We had a nice dinner together.  I did make him this card using a DCWV stack that I just picked up.

Outside of card

Inside of card

Engaged

The Challenge:
Make your title using patterned paper

Kyle and Kayla just got their engagement photos taken and I just love them.  They are just so cute together!  I could not wait to scrap them so I decided to do it for this week's Issue Challenge at Club CK.  I chose to use an Allison Davis sketch from one of the sketch books I got for my birthday.  I love how it turned out.  I had grouped the peachy papers all together quite a while ago because I thought they would go together nicely.  I found the piece of brown in my stash and voila!  I really like how the title turned out too.  I used one of my long forgotten letter stencils to trace the letter on the patterned paper and then cut out around them, leaving a border. I like and will use that technique again

Winner and a Fave!

Imagine my surprise and my joy to wake up yesterday to find that one of the layouts I make for the 6/9 Sketchy Thursdays sketch won the random drawing for that week's prize!  Not only that, but my other layout I made was chosen as a fave by their DT!  I was so excited!  Here is a recap:

This won the prize!

And this layout was chosen as a fave!!!!

Thanks to everyone over at Sketchy Thursdays

Engagement Photos

Kayla had her engagement photos done on Monday by the talented Peggy Iileen.    She got the files for the shoot today!  Fast.  They are just gorgeous and I can't wait to scrap them.  For those of you in the area, here is her website http://eugenephotographer.com/weddings.htm  There are a couple of stories to be told there too :)  Here is a preview to look over until I have a chance to scrap.

Chocolate Love

The Challenge:
Make an embellishment by pulling an element from your photo(s)

I chose to use the three photos from our Sister Chick Chocolate Potluck.  I brought my camera to take photos, but was totally sidetracked by Bunco and never took any more than these three!  Well, you know women and chocolate.  We had a feast this night and we partook while playing fun games.  I chose to make a cupcake embellishment to match the fancy tray of cupcakes in one of the photos.  And to think, I was just not in a very good and I almost didn't go!  Thanks, K for dragging me there.

Hmmmm...

I was messing around with some settings and two of my previous blog posts re-posted.  Not sure why, but I do know I need to get busy with scrappin' so I can update!  Busy, busy, busy!

San Fransisco Attractions

We were able to go to some really cool places on our trip to San Fransisco last year.  There is nothing like running from ride to ride with a bunch of excited teens at an amusement park or watching the faces of discovery at a science museum or to witness a silent appreciation for hard times and the thoughts of being locked up at Alcatraz.  Here are some layouts showing these things.

We spent the afternoon at The CA Academy of Sciences.  It was a pretty cool place.  There was a huge biodome in the center of the building that was set at tropical temperatures and humidity and there were live birds, butterflies and fish that were free to roam at will.  You walked up a ramp that took you 3 stories high so you can see all the levels of the rain forest.  Then you got into an elevator and it plunged you down below the surface of the water so you can see what goes on down there.  As you walk out of the rain forest area, you walk into a huge ocean aquarium.  On top of all this, there were displays on Africa, a solarium, fossils and a mammal display.  The food was fabulous too!

Bryon's friends decided that he needed to man up and conquer The Tower.  I watched from the sidelines (I am terrified of heights!) while he nervously made his way through the line.  When it was his turn and he was in place, he looked like he was going to throw up!  On his way down though, you could see the excitement and accomplishment he felt.  He did drag me up there later in the day... I have to say, it is an interesting experience.  I think I would go again.

We were lucky enough to be able to take the night tour of Alcatraz.  They only take two ferries worth over for this time tour and you have to get tickets months in advance.  Luckily we have a rockin' bus driver!  The boat takes you around the back side of the island so that you completely encircle it.  The driver also gives a lot of information.  The lighting was just amazing and the buildings looked so cool.  There were a lot fewer people in the building too so it had a more lonely, quiet feeling that was kind of creepy.  There were also extra talks and information sessions.  I learned a lot about Al Capone's stay there and how it really did break him down when he just bought people in all the other prisons he stayed in.  It is a sobering experience to tour this place.

March Scraplift Challenge

The challenge: Pick from a group of layouts one that you can scraplift.

I did not totally scraplift this layout but it did give me some "bones" to structure my layout from.  We had such a fun day this day at the beach.  It was the first time in a long time that we spent the day as a family of 4 doing something fun.  Bryon just cracked me up all day long!  It is just so fun watching him and seeing what he will do.

Here is my layout with Bryon, hee hee hee!  Bryon vs the Ocean (and the ocean won!)




Here is the layout I was inspired by.  It was done by Michele Beck

Us

I had these three photos I randomly took on a random trip to the beach on Memorial day.  I decided that the Sketchy Thursdays sketch would work really well, so I made a second layout using it.  I went for a more rough, wild look on this one instead of the orderly feel of yesterday's layout.  AND *gasp* it is only 1 page!  I used machine stitching in place of the inner mat and felt like it was a little too light so I added free-hand lines on the outside of the stitching.  I found this yarn at Wally World that looks an awful like baker's twine (just a little thicker) so I got a skein and tied it around the bottom of the whole page.

Coast Beauty

I have had these photos for a while and have not scrapped them yet!  I took them while on a photo workshop with my step dad a few years ago (he leads them).  I learned a lot and had a really good time.  I decided to use them to do this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch.  I recently got the Flower Child kit from Bo Bunny and I love, love, love the bright colors!

And I know that most of you know that I really love 2 page spreads so I made the 2nd page.  The sketch worked really well as an extended layout.

Thinking....

Today is going to be a day of thinking.  Really it's been a whole week of thinking!  I have spent my nights thinking of stuff going on instead of sleeping.  Today I had an idea and I need to see if it is something I can carry off.  I think I will look into it and see if I can do a good job at it before I launch into something over my head.  I tell you, because I will be doing it for all of you.  So, off to think!

Fiesta Bowl

Recently I went to one of those paint your pottery places and painted a fun bowl.  It had recessed and elevated circles around the rim and I am a sucker for circles.  Usually, I am kind of disappointed in the results once I pick up my project since painting skills elude me.  I was there with my friend Renae and she gave me some pointers to make it look smoother and not show the brush lines.  I also did three coats of paint and it made all the difference!  I really love how it turned out!

Mooney Christmas in July

The challenge:
Use the colors: yellow, navy and lime green

I admit, this was kind of hard for me.  I am not sure I would have put these colors together.  I thought they did make for a fun, fresh idea on a Christmas layout; especially since it isn't a traditional Christmas gathering.  We did it at the beach, in the summer!  I also was lifting a layout for the May Scraplift Challenge at Club CK.  Here is the layout I lifted, by my friend Cassie




And here is mine.  Even though the matting and letters look black, they are navy.

Nails, Glitter and Glam

I did this layout a while ago for one of Erika's awesome issue challenges but I am posting it today in honor of my friend Renae, who not only did my nails, but understands the artistic in me and inspired me to grow in my creations.  She is also one of the nicest, most generous women I know.  She is starting her new adventure today, 2095.31 miles away from me.  Love you, Nae and I will miss you so much!  It only takes 32 hours and 19 minutes to get there!

G is for Graduate

WINNER!!!
I drew a number for the blog hop winner and Random Number Generator gave me #16!  Auntie Em!  Please email me at mooneys441at yahoo dot com with your address.  Congrats!



I did this layout for this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch.  It was a fun sketch and fit my photos well, I think

I thought it would work really well with the graduation hats flying in the air and I replaced the flowers with hats cut out on my Cricut.  I love how they mimic the hats in the photo.  This is from my son's graduation from high school last year.  Yes, I really am that far behind :)

And you know that I love 2 pagers, so here is the 2nd page.  I love the look on Bryon's face in the group photo...well, both are pretty good.  He is the tall one on the right doing the double fist pump.

Beach Fun

I did this layout for the Frosted Design weekly sketch.  Here is the sketch

The layout is about our family Christmas in July.  We had this great, huge house that fit all of us!  This day was just spectacular in the weather department and we had a great time just hanging out.  My BIL went and bought this huge tuna, which he grilled and then we made tuna salad with the left overs.  Best tuna sandwich I have EVER had!  The sun is actually a flower, but It makes a great sun, I think.

As you may or may not know, I am really a two page kind of gal so here is a second page I made to go with it :)

June Blog Hop

Welcome to the June Blog Hop!  This is my first time as a hopping destination and I am pretty excited about it! If you are starting here, hop on over to Amanda's blog  to get started.

We were asked to use a sketch in a couple of different ways.  I have done a layout and two cards.  It is a very nice sketch and it will become a regular one for cards, I think.

Here is the sketch

As you can see by past posts, I am mainly a two page kinda gal.  I just like the eye to take in all the same subject and design when looking through my albums.  As you can see, I turned the sketch into a two page layout by flipping the photo box and stretching out the embellishments to cover both pages

I admit, I had been putting off scrapping these photos because it was such a bittersweet moment.  It was really the end of an era for our family.  Both kids have been heavily involved in band from 6th to 12th grade and both were in marching band as Drum Majors.  We marched in a local parade near the end of school and it was decided that my son would hand off the Drum Major job halfway through the parade route to the new Drum Major.  I was in the front, carrying the banner, trying not to cry.  My good friend took these photos for me.  I was one proud Momma!

This is one of the cards I did and I just love it!  The sketch is such a good one for a card.  I plan on using it again.

In fact, I made one right away!  It can be used in so many fun ways.






Thanks for stopping by, leave a comment and you may just win a prize!  Become a follower and I will draw a prize winner from my followers on Sunday and post by Monday.  Now, hop on over to see Steffanie

We Are Bethel

The Challenge:
A recipe
The color yellow
Chipboard, twine, ribbon or floss
3 buttons
Letter stickers
Glitter or Stickles

I had these photos printed off to scrap when I came by this challenge.  I NEVER would have picked these papers if I wasn't trying to take part in this challenge.  I really like how it turned out!  I love the patterned paper and the feel it gives, the stitched border, the brackets and the title.  I don't think it would have looked anything like this if I just did it on my own.  This is why I like challenges; they stretch me and make me do things I wouldn't have done otherwise.  I know I have grown because of them.

Kayla the College Grad

First off, I would like to let you all know to join me this Friday and Saturday for the Sketch it to Me Blog Hop!  We have all been given a sketch and asked to make a couple of things with it.  It will be lots of fun and there will be many great projects.  I can't wait to see them all!

Now, we now return you to your regularly scheduled blog update.  This last weekend we took Kayla's senior photos.  They turned out pretty good and we all had a lot of fun taking them.  Just think hubby, son, son's friend, Kayla and me.  Quite a hoot!  I have been itching to use my birthday present of a sketch book from Scrapbook Generations.  I think this sketch worked quite well!  I also used my new kit from My Mind's Eye.  Lots of fun paper, embellishments and stamp set.