iLove

in my last round of the 2007 circle journal (which was supposed to take weeks...but somehow stretched to months!)...i have andrea's journal: when words fail, music speaks.

being the technogeek that i am, of course the layout would have to do with my iPod! (it should be noted that this is the SECOND time that i have gotten an iPod a few weeks before the brand new models came out. i curse you, apple!)

i pulled the top songs played from my iTunes...and the list was so randomly funny...the best part is that each of those songs that i listened to a bunch during the month was for a specific reason. how random am i?

so i give you...

the font is myriad pro, in different weights. colors are sampled from the iPod ads.

i also thought it was super funny to read kate's blog about her iTunes and iPod AFTER i'd finished this layout! we're all a bunch of apple junkies at heart...i suppose!

circle journal: back where i come from

took a break from the editing of 2000+ wedding images to pull together one of my last layouts for the circle journal project. pulled two of my favorite photos - with mom and me and our dog(s). in 1977 - the only dog was sheila, and now, andy and viper.

this is claudine's "back where i come from" circle journal...which has some amazing pages in it. i can't wait for her to see it...since she'll be getting it back complete!

for the specs...
i used the same action over both photos to tie them together - even though the quality is distinctly different (color film from the 1970s vs. my digital canon 28ish years later), they seem more uniform to one another. i sampled the beige, olive and cream from the photos. the brush along the bottom is from designfruit. you can click on them to read the journaling.

the first page...photo taken at the old house on henderson bay


the second page...taken at the 'new' house on henderson bay (we moved into it when i was 4 years old...in 1981)

circle journal: quotes

revised a bit, from my earlier layout...

wanted simple colors and design. included some of my favorite chick flick quotes (some known, some not-so-known) that make me happy. i especially love the elastigirl quote, since it reminds me of our relay team. :)

the specs:

• the fonts are harmonica, futura, hurricane, caflisch, sunnydale, pegsanna, cluff, and starbabe.
• the digikit is from digiscrapshak: saskia's she's a star.

circle journal: hold dear

a night at home...to finally finish up the circle journals that are waiting new pages and to be shipped off to the ever patient claudine...

this layout is for michelle's "hold dear" 8x8 circle journal. all of the pages revolve around whatever the scrapper "holds dear"...so of course...mine revolves around jonathan. ♥

wow...i think i'm turning into one of those mushy people i always used to make fun of. if we start wearing matching clothes, everyone has permission to kick us in the head. :)

for the scrappy deets:

• obviously, i have been re-reading cathy z's clean and simple scrapbooking (thanks, kris, for finding it in your closet!)...and so this is a relatively clean and simple layout. :)
• i sampled the brown, blue and light gray from the photo of us in photoshop. also used a bunch of drop shadows.
• the brushes are from rhonna farrer's round and round at two peas in a bucket.
• the fonts used are franklin gothic demi and light, as well as my new favorite: hurricane one and two. (astute crafty peeps may recognize this font and photo in the as-yet-not-finished save the date cards to come).

circle journal: love

and yes, the circle journal finally makes a comeback! the past few weeks have been a blur, but it's finally time that i make claudine's day by filling her mailbox with a journal or two! :)

the other night, i was finishing the fifth book, forever, in the firstborn series by karen kingsbury.

(warning - spoiler ahead)

in the earlier redemption series, the baxter family was introduced - with the mom, elizabeth, passing away from cancer in the fifth book of the earlier series. five books later, she shared her wisdom on life and marriage through letters to her children. her list of these 10 things resonated in my heart - from the areas that are my strengths to the ones that i struggle with (4 and 6) and i knew it was the perfect theme for the layout on love - for jenna's journal.

the photo is one of my faves - from an afternoon down on the farm where we impressed the cows in the field with our exceptional self-portrait skills. i ♥ that jonathan can make me laugh anytime -- when we're goofy or frustrated or chill or irritated or late -- and it is one of the reasons i love him.

and i love that 'laugh often' is #3 on her list.

i also love the list because you can apply in so many ways - relationships with your significant other, family, friends...

the specs:
i branched out a bit to use under the tuscan sun kit from the digichick. the font is harmonica, and i used one of itty bitty actions's conversions on the photo.

happiness is...

shelia's theme for this round of the circle journal is "happiness is..." - sharing what makes you happy / what brings happiness into your life.

sampled colors from the photo. the green stitching is from christy lyle's deserted island kit (which is no longer available from the digichick). the brush on the right page is from the japanese foliage brush set from designfruit. i think i'm addicted to his brushes.

the left page:


the right page:

the journaling is small on the web...so here's the journaling, just in case you were wondering what makes me happy:

...talks that last for hours on end
...small world coincidences
...feeling like you have always been in my life
...the 2007 putt putt challenge
...fishing out my golf ball from the slimy putt putt river
...finding that my time around you makes me want to be better than i am
...eighteen roses delivered on my 3/4 birthday
...valentine cookies and rose bouquets
...five day long dates
...when all roads lead to rainier, life is just as it should be
..."and so she’s smarter, cuter, wiser, and more catholic"
..."and i really think he’s smarter than me. it’s a first for me."
...learning that my parents should be featured in ‘meet the parents 3’
...one of my mom’s famous quotes: “so did you get a lot of ash?”
...and the now famous response, “mom, he hadn’t been born yet when st. helens erupted.”
...learning that age is just a number
...happy competition rocks
...especially when i win
...knowing that the best place in the world is where you are
...and i want to be there.

march 2007

let's eat!

elizabeth's circle journal topic is "let's eat!" sharing our favorite recipes. i decided to include my two signature recipes...my famous lemon white chocolate chip cookies and the office potluck favorite, parmesan artichoke dip.

simple layouts using just my current lime green favorite color with a gradient map, and fresh foliage brushes from designfruit.

and you are welcome to make these recipes for me anytime. :)




(and a note to claudine - i know i'm lame because i'm behind! look for a special something in the package as a mea culpa! and they're both 8x8s if you want to work ahead...)

a bit of color.

samantha's journal is entitled "brought to you by the letter "c".

i was stumped and couldn't come up with anything. after all, the most important things in the world begin with "s", right? :)

inspired by today's muse who spurred the idea...just a simple layout of one of my favorite sunset images out at the house. sampled a few of the colors from the photo to create the blocks and spaced them over the page.

i'm getting pretty proficient at mailing the journal a day late. sorry, claudine!

circle journal: the five senses

finishing up the second round of the 2007 circle journal...this week's theme was "the five senses", from elizabeth w. (her starting pages are here) i love this theme...so much you can do with it. so much so, that...

i changed my focus twice when doing these pages...because i just couldn't get into the groove (could be the tylenol p.m. still working its way through my system...lesson learned: never p.m. and scrap!). started with the fives senses at the woodmark spa, then went to the lemony five senses, and finally settled on snowy days. mainly, because it's raining outside, and i miss the snow. :)

went for a three color design (blue, orange, white) inspired by re-reading cathy z's clean and simple scrapbooking. used the incredibly versatile and beautiful japanese foliage brushes from designfruit for the second page.

uploaded them for printing tonight, and will pick them up tomorrow to mail monday. it will be on its way to you, claudine! bring on round three!

2007 circle journal: first round

kicking off 2007 is a new round of circle journals...a ten week adventure with the following gals:

• me
• jenna
• michelle
• claudine
• samantha
• andrea
• dana
• elizabeth
• shelia
• elizabeth m

using an 8x8 album, my theme is "the story of my favorite image". each gal will scrap a spread of their favorite image with the most important part...the story of why it's their fave. most often the favorite images have a emotional reason behind it...and i can't wait to get glimpse of these gals and their images.

without further ado, below you'll find my first layout. relatively simple layouts - designed to keep the focus on the image rather than the embellishments. i have a few digital kits i'm looking forward to using on the other pages...and can't wait to see everyone's themes!

thanks, andrea, for putting this all together! :)



(the right page of the spread)