TBT... some earlier kits presented by Lisa Bearnson

     This is one of my first attempts at a TBT (Throw Back Thursday) post.  And yes, I'm still learning cyber abbreviations lol.  I thought that I would share some of my previous layouts that I created utilizing kits that Lisa Bearnson presented on HSN over the past couple of years.
 
      I love how this black and white layout works so well with most of the colors in these two pages, especially Dakota's thick, beautiful black, gray and white coat, as well as some of the winter wear and sleds used during the sledding part!  On the left page and the lower right page,  I dry embossed some swirls/flourishes to help carry out the snowy weather theme.

       

       The top of these two photos is the page kit as it came.  I've been mixing and matching a lot over the past several years.  Above,  I replaced the light blue with darker blue cardstock as the base, to match some of the colors in my photos, specifically the birthday boy's winter coat... I also left out the striped borders as well. 

     This layout is somewhat a mirror/upside down reflection of the suggested layout.  The 3 photo frames are on my lower right page, theirs are on the upper left, and so on.  Again, the colors of this layout kit went well with the photos, as we had a Star Wars themed party this year!    
     The 3 layouts above documented the long and fun packed day of Wesley's sledding birthday party.  Yes, Dakota enjoyed it as well!

      When I saw the colors in this kit, along with the layout suggested, I knew it would work really well these photos!  Again, the black, gray and white draw attention to Dakota's coat, but Wesley wears a LOT of blue, which until this past year, was his favorite color.  In this case, he was wearing black, gray and red, but his mini dirt bike is blue...  I love to scrap not only by theme, but by color! 
     I love to document how Wesley & I (and yes, Dakota too) spend our summers together.  On weekends, Wesley has a lot of what I used to call "Daddy dates", and now refer to as "Guy time".  Michael works a lot of hours, especially spring through summer, including 5-6 hours on Saturdays, because it is his busy season at work.  Once he gets home on Saturday, if the weather is right, they usually take off to the State Park or other local spot for MAJOR bike rides (which I can't do lol), fly kites next to Lake Michigan, etc.  Therefore, I have several "me and my dad" and "me and my mom" mini albums.  These 12" pages will have to go into a different album.

      You will see bits and pieces of this 3 Birds "All About Fall" kit in the 2 page layout below, again mixed with another Top Pages kit!  Both kits even have chipboard.

     These are some of the pages that I completed or started during one of our local Crop For A Cure, a 12 hour crop that we have twice a year in one of our local churches.  I apologize for the glare on some of the photos above.   Hurrying to get things photographed while trying to catch up on household chores is not a good thing lol.

      This kit ended up being used on TWO different layouts already!  Immediately below you will see a two page spread that I tried to complete, covering two different days and topics, because of the colors. Ultimately, the mint green still called out to be only used on the ice cream layout because of my mint chocolate chip blizzard, and the pink/purple ended up on the separate layout about my studio pellet stove.

     

      I ended up converting my photos to b/w because of Wesley's sweater, but still wanted to use the mint embellishments.  I NEEDED (lol) to include that adorable photo of Dakota enjoying our trip to Dairy Queen, therefore it became part of a second page of that layout. 

          Wow, those covered a fair amount of time, both in the events, and the time period over which they were scrapped.  I think I may be doing this on a regular basis.  Have a wonderful TBT!

Creating layouts with 3 Birds kits at local crops: Part Two.

      This layout was created during the Crop & Craft for Missions fund raiser.  It's rare that I get even one page completed during the local fund raisers, since I'm not only there as a vendor, but I also ESPECIALLY enjoy chatting with friends and walking around throughout the day to see what others are creating.
     Another blast from the past in terms of kits, but here it is combined with 2014 photos and more of the earlier 3D embellishments offered by 3 Birds.
     This Labor Day Michael and Wesley walked the Mackinac Bridge with THOUSANDS of others, as part of the Annual Bridge Walk between the two peninsulas.  I chose not to go, thinking it would take about 3 hours to complete the walk, and I didn't want to hold them back.  Plus, if I went, I wanted to take my beloved Dakota with us.
     It turns out that they completed the walk in under an hour!  I also believe that they said others brought their dogs with them for the walk, so I WOULD be able to take Dakota... I told them that it sounds like we need to go with them next year.
     As usual, Michael & Wesley took a side-trip, this time to Sleeping Bear Dunes.   Wesley had seen the signs for it on their way to the bridge that morning, and since they were done early enough, off they went!
     They got home late, especially when you consider that Wesley's 1st day of school was the next day, but they really enjoyed themselves.

Using Inspired Inc Top Page Layout Kits... installment 3.

     Today's installment covers a different type of walk than Wesley, Dakota and I usually take.  This particular day I decided to take Dakota to our local dog park, 'Bark in the Park'.  Rather than merely going inside the doggy park to roam around and play with others dogs if present AND well behaved, we decided to explore part of the adjacent walking path which winds through the woods between the dog park, local cemetery and the Lincoln River.

    This is another situation where I needed to create a companion page in order to include all or at least most of the photos that I wanted to use.  I searched my stash of papers, cropped corners to match those of the kit pieces, and used some of the remaining kit items to pull the pages together.
     I also had to adapt the layout to fit the number, sizes, and orientation (vertical vs horizontal) of the photos I wanted to work with.
     I'm not crazy with the outcome, due to the fact that the blue camera pattern paper is busier than I usually use, and more of it is exposed therefore making it more visible, but the theme works well with this story, and the blue and black coordinate with Wesley's clothing and Dakota's coat.
    

Creating more layouts by utilizing Top Page Layout kits by Inspired Inc: Part 2

     Hello friends and family.  This will take a while for me complete, but I am working diligently to play 'catch up' on postings of my projects from 2014-2015.
     Below are 2 pages completed with one of the Inspired Inc Top Page layout kits, followed by a companion page that I created in order to include more of the fun photos from an afternoon of family play time in our home town.  The colors of this kit fit really well with the colors of our clothing as well as the BEAUTIFUL blooming tree which is part of the mini golf course.  I used part of another Top Page Layout kit, specifically the rainbow portions, to pull the colors from the prior two pages into the companion page.

     As you can see, I had to alter the layout suggested to fit my photo orientations, number and sizes, but the colors really helped to pull the pages together.
          

       Wesley joined Cub Scouts this year, and their only fund raiser is their annual popcorn sale which takes place in front of the local hardware store where the scout leader works...brilliant!  When combined with the fees each cub scout pays annually, this fund raiser covers the expenses of some of their activities.   Our favorite popcorn that they sold is the dark and white chocolate popcorn which Wesley is holding in one of the photos... a very popular seller.

    This layout kit featured brown tones along with orange and green accents, which worked well with our annual outdoor chores or activities.  Wesley has been learning to drive our lawn mower on his own, actually enjoying some of the outdoor chores since he's been allowed to drive.  Sometimes Michael lets him just zoom around the yard for fun.... typical kid at this age range.

 

Completing more projects utilizing kits from 3 Birds: Part One.

     During two of our local fund raising crops, Crop For A Cure & Crop and Craft for Missions, I was able to crank out a few more projects by using some of my huge stash of kits by 3 Birds.

     This is one of the many diecut page kits that 3 Birds has offered since I discovered them around 2009.  Since I am a 3D embellishment lover/hoarder as well, and have so many pieces which coordinate with their color schemes over the years, I took advantage of the situation to create a quick (it usually takes me hours to complete a layout), balanced and fun layout.
     Not only was this our first vegetable garden at this home, it was Wesley's first opportunity to grow his own pumpkins.  We were quite surprised to see that we were able to get not only one or two, but 4 pumpkins.  The pumpkins were small, but it was a nice learning experience for Wesley as well as Michael and I, as we learned a bit about how well some things may or may not grow in relation to its location in our yard, the amount of rain we did NOT receive this year, and the cooler than normal temperatures we also experienced during this odd summer season.
     We planted 3 types of tomatoes, locating them on the West side of the raised bed so that the corn was less likely to shade them out.  What we learned about the tomatoes:  they grew like MAD in relation to the other plants, and therefore are going to have their OWN bed next year!
     The peas tasted WONDERFUL and were the family favorite, with us fighting over the few that we were able to harvest.  The tomatoes growing like weeds shadowed them out, plus we definately need to plant more pea plants next year.
     The corn didn't do diddly.... too little heat as well as rain (yes, we watered the garden almost daily)
caused our corn to only grow a few feet, not being any where near 'knee high by fourth of July'.  Local farmers struggled with the same problem, but we were able to buy a fair amount of locally grown sweet corn from the 'Larsen Girls', granddaughters of my scrapbooking friend, Judee Larsen.
     I accidentally picked one of only 2 peppers that grew this summer, upsetting Michael a bit.  I didn't check the label of that particular plant before picking the lovely green pepper which was calling my name.  When mature, it was supposed to be red....oops.  I got to enjoy it since it never fully ripened, and Michael was no longer interested in it.
    Next year we plan to build at least one more raised bed like this one which Michael and Wesley built for me.  As mentioned above, we will definately be giving the tomatoes their own bed, perhaps with corn getting it's own private 'suite', and lots more peas being planted.

My first shabby chic mirror....

     Over the years my design preferences have evolved into something rather eclectic: from rustic to shabby chic/victorian.
     After seeing some beautiful altered mirrors online, I was inspired to scour my little town for something to work on.  I found the mirror at Wal-Mart, and also bought some more lace, flowers, & other goodies in shades of white and cream to add to my stash of products I already planned to use.
     This is my first attempt at using a fair amount of Mod Podge on a project.  Several layers of white/cream paints, ribbons, straight pins with beads added, a Prima flourish, flowers and lace, and this is what I created.

 

     Several of the flowers are made from paper, either from my 3 Birds kits, or on my own after practicing with the 3 Birds flower kits.
      It hangs in my scrap 'studio', on an unfinished wall, but wow, does it look nice.  Thanks for reading!

Completing lots of layouts by utilizing Inspired Inc Top Page Layout Kits: Part 1

     It will take several postings in order for me to catch up on posting my many projects which I have attempted to post since last year's struggles with my blog, but please be patient with me.
     One of the topics that I have been trying to cover were the MANY pages that I was able to complete by utilizing the TOP PAGE LAYOUT kits, presented on HSN by Lisa Bearnson, who has created this line by working with several different product companies/manufacturers, and offering them under the name of Inspired Inc.
     I have been using kits for YEARS, especially after discovering 3 Birds on HSN.  They are one of the many companies that Lisa Bearnson (cofounder of Creating Keepsakes Magazine) has partnered with in order to create and offer some great products for us.
     Wesley's 10th birthday party last winter was one of the events/topics that I was able to document utilizing the many kits available through Inspired Inc., either through single shipments or autoship.  I opted for the Autoship program, thus I received 3 more deliveries of 10-12 two-page layout kits every few months.  The original kit was offered in the spring/summer of 2014, with the other shipments coming in June or July, September and November.
     Each follow up shipment was organized by a theme, such as Holiday Happenings which was shipped out in November.
     Some or all of these images may have appeared in earlier postings (actually begun months ago but unable to post them until later dates due to blog problems), but I want to cover the fact that I was able to complete so many projects by taking advantage of these kits    
     I don't usually go sledding with the guys, but not only did Dakota get to go (meaning additional opportunities to document her joy in participating in a snowy play date), but it was Wesley's birthday party, which I ALWAYS document.

    

     

 

     I was also able to scrap some of the activities that Dakota and I did with Wesley, either school related, Spring Break entertainment and treats, or how we spent some of our lazy, summer days together.

  Wesley's 'spring break' saw unusually cold, snowy weather, but there's ALWAYS justification for ice cream! When I saw the mint and black in this kit, I knew it would work for my photos, being the colors of my mint chocolate chip ice cream, but the other colors in the photos didn't work so well, so I simply turned my photos to b/w and wow... what a great improvement!  I used some of the stickers from another Inspired Inc kit to record the "Who, What, Where & When" in the upper right hand corner. 

     Wesley is outgrowing his battery powered dirt bike, but it still provides the occasional fun adventure!  When Wesley accompanies Dakota and I on our walks in the neighboring cemetery, I often ask him if he wants to practice his soccer dribbling and other skills, or ride his bike or dirt bike rather than just walking with us.  He often entertains himself in a manner common among kids or particularly boys, by finding a 'walking stick' or other natural items to distract himself from the fact that we are getting some fresh air and exercise.
      The 'All Hallows Eve' kit was all I needed for this year's family Halloween portraits!

Our family dressed up as Star Wars characters this year; I didn't get to go trick or treating because I had to set up for the Crop For A Cure the following day.

 For the layout below , I used the "Thankful" kit plus I added the "autumn" & leaf borders and a few individual pieces from the 3 Birds Best of Fall kit seen below.

     Rather than using this kit for a traditional Thanksgiving event, I used it to document how thankful we were to be able to borrow a neighbor's GOLF CART to pull our leaf rake, since our lawn mower is on the fritz.  Again, my photos are not all the same size, orientations or numbers, but it worked really well!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.... again. Squirrel's "Seal/t of Approval" layout.

     Yes, I know that it's a typical cat thing, but Squirrel has been EXTRA cat-like lately.  Not only did she sit on a clean plate that sat at the table before a meal, like she did last year by sitting on the plate that I had in Leon's spot before the Gleason Christmas we hosted, but she has been nearly EVERYWHERE she could possibly be in relation to a current project we were working on this Christmas season!  She even sat on top of the box which contained Michael and Wesley's snow shoes I gave them this year, not even moving while they were unwrapping it (see photo in the upper left hand corner of the page)!  They had to physically move her, as our requests went unanswered each time we asked her to move.  Table settings, freshly washed and ironed table cloths & gift wrapping paper are just a few of the other items she decided to 'bless' with her presence.

     I fell behind on my usual Christmas decorating schedule, and after living with the decorations as they were for a couple of weeks, I finally found more of the large ornaments on sale, along with a spray sealer that I wanted to add in order to extend their finish.  Christmas Eve found Wesley helping me complete the task by holding them for me as I applied the finish outdoors (to save our lungs and nostrils), but it didn't always completely solve the problem (see upper left photo on the right hand page lol).
    BTW, the Mr. Huey's 'Shine' spray mist that I used STILL has not dried, despite repeat attempts to speed the process with my heat gun and laying it out to dry for weeks now.  I posted a question about it on scrapbook.com's forums, as well as sent a note to the manufacturer's website.  No one else who responded had the same problem for an extended amount of time, and the manufacturer asked if I had mixed the medium (yes) and then suggested that I contact another part of their company's website if I was still unsuccessful.  DEFINATELY. 
     I have a LOT of other photos I would like to scrap to commemorate this Christmas, so be prepared for more red, silver & blingy projects.

A rare family visit. Remembering some summer fun...and cuteness!

   It has been approximately 7 years since my oldest nephew and his wife flew out from California to see our family.  Their older daughter, now 7, was only a few months old at the time.  They had a second daughter who will turn 2 this September, so there were four of them flying this time.  They were lucky that both girls didn't really mind the flights.
      My oldest brother (grandpa to these two girls) hosted a Gleason-Leohr family picnic while they were here, and they also celebrated with my sister-in-law's family as well during their 2 week stay.
    This trip was full of 'firsts' for the two girls.  I can't believe it, but they had NEVER seen FIREWORKS before!  They also went to Lake Michigan for the first time as well.  Of course, it was the younger niece's first plane trip as well, and although they had a layover in Denver, both girls seemed to enjoy the trip, like an adventure.
    When I found out that we had not only one, but TWO baby girls to be born in 2012, I was immediately spurred to create baby girl albums.  I gave both mothers their albums during this visit and the family picnic.  I am also creating copies for all us aunts and grandmothers as well.

 Skylar, granddaughter of my brother Robert.

 Walking off (not) into the sunset... Jordan's girlfriend Marci, Skylar, and Robert.

Robert's daughter Jennifer with her daughter Skylar, the first grandniece born in 2012.  Skylar is a VERY girly-girl, & her nursery was done in a baby animal theme, so her album is made of not only the pink & green, feminine items as on the cover, but also contains several animal prints.

     I created Gleason Girl albums for the ladies of our family as well. Aunt Pat's is seen above. Rather than concentrating on the two youngest girls, I included bits of each of us in order of age.  If I did not have a newborn photo, I used the photo at the youngest age available.  I included a more current photo of them when available, & included wedding photos of myself & adult niece Sarah.

     Aunt Pat ended up crying TWICE, first when I gave her the ORIGINAL (& only copy?) of her brother's (my Uncle's) senior album, seen below.  She wasn't expecting either of these gifts, and I think she really appreciates them!

     My cousin Marvie (Marvin Jr.) was one of many relatives on this side of the family, who I have not seen in several years, so that was a special treat.  There were also a lot of new family members who I had NEVER met!  Needless to say, I took LOTS of photos & am trying to share them with as many as possible.