Calgary Zoo

I had so many photos I wanted to use on this layout. I had to keep Ali Edwards' words in my head - YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SCRAPBOOK EVERY SINGLE PHOTO! Do you struggle with that? My Mom had asked if I was going to just do a small album on the zoo. Now I could have, I had that many photos, but there was NO NEED. I decided I would simply print the photos and put them in a flip album so the kids could go through and see all the creatures & moments and just do a 2-page spread in my album. Here's what I came up with:

The full spread:

I reprinted my photos to wallet size so I could fit a lot on my pages.

I used chipboard from my stash, already colored, and used them for a colorful title: Calgary Zoo, creative aren't I! LOL.I used my cuttlebug die for all the circles, and the threading water punch for the scallop along the bottom. The design paper had polka dots, so I went with it! :)

I used SU's punch for highlighting a couple of the favorite creatures - prairie dog here... ...and the red panda here.

I'm looking forward to scrapbooking the adventures as they arrive....

.j.

simplicity works.

This is a *VERY* simple card. And...it works. Some sponging, some layering, a little paper piercing at the bottom - done. When I need a card quick, this is the type of card I can make in under 10 minutes -- perfect! :)
I've been very busy scrapbooking the last few days. I'm doing a scrapbook for my Mom's co-worker. She wanted to scrapbook her son's wedding (in Hawaii) to give to them next month for their Canadian wedding reception. SO... I have been offline for awhile and pumping out the pages. I will post them in the next couple of weeks. Been quickly snapping photos of the pages (so quality will be questionable!), but I do still have a few pages of my own to share with you.
How's your summer going?

Curried Rice Salad

I made this for the reunion, I loved it. Rice was a bit mushy (would use a different kind next time).... but the overall TASTE was Mmm-Mmmm-Good! ;-) I love salads in summer weather... cold dinners are delish - let me know if you have a salad to share, I'll try it out FER SURE!!! K, try this one:

Curried Rice Salad

2 cups cooked rice (best made the day before)

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

1 Tablespoon vinegar

1 tsp. curry powder

2 tablespoons salad oil (I used olive oil)

2 cups frozen green peas

1 cup mayo

Mix rice, celery, onions, frozen peas, salad oil, vinegar & curry powder. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Add mayo. Can be pressed into a mold and when chilled turned onto a large platter (can't do this... grosses me out for some reason to have MOLDED salads.... dunno??), served on lettuce leaves or just as is (I'm an AS IS kinda girl, LOL!)

Enjoy!

.j.

Father's Day Page

We celebrated Father's Day a week early this year. It was great to scrapbook recent photos... I'm loving this *new* way of doing things! LOL.

The quote on top: "Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a Daddy!"

That big Happy Family on the bottom photo is actually a beautiful rub-on. The arrows directing the eye to follow Simply The Best are punched out using my cuttlebug and arrow plate.

Don't want to spend a fortune on metal edged tags? Check out your local Staples or Walmart. I got a package of about 25 for $2.50! Sweet deal. I just take off the metal ring on top, and replace it with lovely ribbon! And, yes... I finally added a touch of my own handwriting!!

I love Thickers, and these ones I got for Christmas, vinyl. HOW COOL IS THAT?! I used a sticker to go on top of a SU metal edged tag and loved adding a few dew drops, they're so yummy and I need, need, need more colors!!


We also went & played tennis this day so I did a page that co-ordinate with this page, but didn't treat it as a two-page spread. I'll share that page with you soon...

Enjoy your day,

.j.

Broccoli Salad

My Mom had a little family reunion last weekend and she wanted everyone to have a break and asked me to cook a ham and make some salads & deliver them to everyone on Saturday for dinner :) What fun! This is always a favorite at our house, so I thought I'd make it for the group!

Broccoli Salad

1 head broccoli

1 bunch of green onions

1`-1/2 cups chopped celery

1/2 cup crumbled bacon

1-1/2 cup green grapes

toasted slivered almonds

sunflower seeds

raisins

Dressing:

1 cup mayo or salad dressing (Miracle Whip)

1 Tablespoon Vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

Mix all together and enjoy. :)

Blah.

Today is a blah day. We drive Daddy back to the airport to leave. Never fun. Never easy. BUT, we're so thankful he only goes for 7-8 days now instead of 12 or 13!! Count your blessings, right! I thought I'd share with you my blah card. YUP, I have them too. :) It was a card I saw that I loved & tried to re-create it (k, mine is totally different) with what supplies I had brought with me. IT DID NOT WORK. At least it's not what I was going for. I'm not sure if it's just that I don't like all those scalloped squares, or that they are mounted on black, or that my white is stamped (I wanted white embossing powder)...I'm thinking it's the celery base WITH a celery square - too much. I dunno. It's just blah.

and I'm not sure I could do anything to "de-blah" it. LOL.

.j.

Simplicity Stuggle.

I struggled a bit with this page. I wanted to force myself to have some empty spaces. I found a layout in CK that I liked and used as a foundation to my pages, but then didn't know where or how to do my journalling (hmmm....one l or two?). It is in fact on the back of this page. Not good. I know, no one will really ever PULL out a page, but it's in there. Journalling is one of the things I struggle MOST with. Just not sure where to place it on a page, how much to say... I'm a rambler :). Bet you already figured that out! ANYWAY.... here's the spread:
Base is a rich regal blue textured paper from Stampin' Up! I used a rub-on (SUPER STAR) for the photo of Joshua running in the top corner. I also used a rubon from SU on little Sarah as a dressed up clown to add a little whimsy. The title is made from "Thickers" (love them and must buy more). Along the bottom I added little bits to a couple of the photos: stickers and rub-ons. What a fun day that was, the homeschoolers put on an amazing event!!

Here's a close up. I used a few buttons along the title bar, the date is on a little piece of vellum, and I used the threading water punch (fiskars) for the scalloped edge.

Hello Monday.

.j.