For the Art of it ...

Marin Girls' Trip Project

Here are a few pictures of the girls' trip I took with my Mom and sister in May of 2008.  

Yes, I am that far behind in my scrapbooking projects ... tee hee, but I know that some of you are too and you know who you are!

Front cover

Inside front cover ... journaling the upcoming pictures

Stop 1 ... Timeless Treasures in San Francisco where I picked up several letters that are yet to be hung up in the house.  Yes, they have been laying around for two years and I am okay with that ...

Stop 2 ... Heath Ceramics where Mary Jon picked up tiles to use on her back splash.

Stop 3 ... Downtown Marin with an awesome view of the bay.

Stops 4 and 5 ... San Anselmo where we hit a couple of garden centers and antique stores.

Back cover ... a beautiful ending!    

   

Absolutely Everything to Rockport

I spent the morning in bed ... and loved every minute of it.  It was heavenly!

I finally drug myself out of bed around noon and made my way to Dunkin Donuts for coffee ... yum!  Then I pointed my car towards Topsfield in order to visit the infamous Absolutely Everything.  This is the largest scrapbook store in the New England area and is a must see!  I spent a couple of hours browsing through the store and I picked up a few things ... okay ... more than a few things.  They had a ton of the new CHA items, a wall of Prima flowers, loads of product from my favorite companies (7 Gypsies, Graphic 45, Jenni Bowlin, Webster's Pages, etc.), racks of stamps and inks as well as a library of all of the new idea books, including Tim Holtz' Compendium of Curiosities.  I purchase a copy of this book as well as a couple of books on visual journaling as well as a lot of journal spots and stickers for a couple of projects that I want to start.  Here are a couple of pictures that show some of the stamps and inks they carry:

 
Lots of Tim Holtz stamps, but none of them went into my basket  ... aren't you proud of me?

 
The wall of inks, washes, mists, smooches, etc. was amazing!  It ran most of the length of the store and it was quite a large store.  I actually found a blender pen which I have been looking to find for about the last 3 years.  Score!

After checking out and putting my purchases into the car, I headed up to Rockport.  It was an absolutely quaint seaport village.  Here are a couple of pictures to show you how very charming it was ...

 
This barn-red shack is known as Motif No. 1 and it said to be the most frequently painted and photographed object in town. 

 
I believe that these cages are for either lobster or crab, but they are significantly smaller than the cages on Deadliest Catch.  It was really neat to see a typical New England fishing village and especially at sunset.

First Day of School ...

Okay ... I am a little envious of my nieces and nephews as they got to started back to school today.  They are in 11th, 7th, two in 2nd and pre-school ... here are my nephews ...

 

Don't you remember those days?

Oh, the smell of freshly sharpened no. 2 pencils ... turning in your spiral notebooks to that first clean page ... pulling out the colorful folders that you got 10 for $1 out of that super cool backpack along with the uber cool trapper keeper ... can you tell that I loved school and even better school supplies?

Do you remember going shopping for your school clothes?  I always wanted the same thing that my older sister got, but in a different color.  I thought and still do that she is beautiful and has a sense of style that I have always admired.  We would drive to Amarillo and sometimes Lubbock to get our latest "fashions" from Dillards, Bealls, Casual Corner ... it was always the highlight of August. 

Were you like me ... setting out your clothes days in advance and changing your mind several times a day, packing up your lunch in the red hard plastic Tupperware lunch pail with all of the hard plastic containers inside, being so excited to see everyone the next day that I barely slept and then actually waking up before Mom or Dad came upstairs to wake us up, being so exhausted after the first day that you simply just what to get a snack and head to bed ...

I was in school for a really long time ... basically from 1975 to 2000 ... 25 years from kindergarten to a Ph.D. and half way through an M.B.A. ... once again, can you tell that I love school?

I am actually thinking about checking out our local community college to see if there is an art history, literature or some other fabulously interesting class that I could take this fall ... any courses that you would recommend?

Well, on a scrapbooking note I am almost finished with another project that was pushed aside uncompleted ... now the only thing left is the journaling and I will complete that tomorrow if all goes well.  Until then ...

Woohoo ... an actual scrapbook page

Below is my first complete scrapbook page for the calendar year 2009.  I have completed several baby albums without pictures as well as several cards; however, this is the first page with a picture, journaling, embellishments, etc.  I am starting to get my groove back ... I think ... time will truly tell.

The event captured in this page was Stephanie's birthday crop at Oh For The Memories in December 2008.  All night the group cropping had been joking about who was Stephanie's BFF and when this picture was taken Deanna and I were told we were her BFF #8 and #9 ... go we gave her the stink eye.  While Stephanie gave me some great pictures of the evening, this picture is the one that best captures my memories of the night.  Long live the stink eye ...

 

supplies:  white cardstock, We R Memory Keepers Urban Windows collection, AC Remark stickers, AC Thickers, Martha Stewart baker's twine and a white price tag

Scrap-N-Away Retreat Weekend

Sorry that I have been away so long, but I have spent the last four days with my friends (Deanna and Teresa) at the amazing Scrap-N-Away Retreat in Frazier Park, CA.  For the past three years, we have escaped to this fabulous retreat site that is run by two awesome people ... Mark and Bonnie Guess.  They open up their mountain retreat for us crazy ladies and we so enjoy catching up with them as we scrap in between the meals lovingly prepared by Bonnie and Mark.

Here are a couple of pictures that Deanna took on our journey down on Thursday afternoon:

 

and here are a couple of shots of the view from their mountain home:

 

 

Yes, we were very lucky to see quite a bit of snow during our retreat; however, here is where we spent almost all of our time:

 

I had a very specific list of projects that I wanted to complete and I got them all done ... can't believe it!  I will be taking pictures of them this evening and will post them on tomorrow's blog.

We also met two marvelous ladies at the retreat ... waving hello to Belinda and Melissa ... hopefully we can meet up again real soon at Bonnie and Mark's.  Until then, please stay in touch!!

Getting into a routine ...

This year I am working on getting into a routine that centers around a healthier lifestyle - mentally, physically and spiritually.  On the mental front, I have been reading a few new books that I will be sharing with you shortly as well as working through the Rosetta Stone Espanol.  On the physical front, I have been going to the gym every morning (except Sunday) and walking on the treadmill as well as following a new eating plan.  And on the spiritual front, my Holy Spirit Bible study started back up again tonight and boy have I missed this group of ladies and the lessons.

Another thing that I am working on is getting back my scrapbooking groove and I am doing this by making at least one card a day, so here is today's card:

 

paper: SEI Twitterpated line and White cardstock

other:  vintage white seam binding, Making Memories Charmed Enamel

Pick up Monday . . .

Boy, did today ever feel like a Monday ... I spent the day picking up things all over town or it least it felt like I did ...

Here is the card that I finished up tonight ... made three to send out to MJ, Shalene and Mom as a just because card.  I know that I love getting cards in the mail from them, so it is about time that I return the favor.

 

Supplies:  Bazzil cardstock in teal, dark brown and white, Fiskars scallop cutting blade, Cuttlebug A2 Textile embossing folder, Hero Arts Patterned Hearts Stamp, Making Memories Enjoy Tag, Martha Stewarts teal and white twine, vintage mother of pearl button and vintage salmon pink seam binding.

A new record and a new page ...

This morning I could not get out of bed to save my life ... okay, maybe to save my life ... but not to go to the gym.  So, I slept through the alarm but still made it to my 8 am meeting with Jose.  It was a fairly productive day at work but it does feel like longer than a week ago that I was on vacation. 

After work I headed to the gym and got my walking down while watching my daily episode of 24.  Gotta love Jack!!  This is where the new record comes in ... five days in a row that I have gone to the gym ... I am super stoked about it!!  I am even planning on going both days this weekend ... first thing in the morning both days and I will be sure to let you know how it goes, ok?

Now for the new page ... I kid you not this page has been about 4 years in the making.  I got the original idea from Jenni Bowlin at least four years ago when I attend CKU Masters in Utah.  I took the picture in November 2005, pull out the sketch in 2006, got the paper in a kit in 2007 and I finally finished the page in December 2008.  I am amazed (1) that it took that long, (2) that it is finally done and (3) that I still love the layout.  That speaks to what an amazing designer Jenni Bowlin is and that her product line as well as the line that she designed for Lil' Davis are classic lines ... never go out of style ... well, at least for me.

 

Deanna is suppose to be driving up tomorrow for a little weekend cropping ... I will let you know if she makes it and will be sure to show you our masterpieces ... tee hee!

Let the Christmas Season Begin ...

Today I truly felt  that the Christmas season began for me as I attended with Petra, Lyndsay and Ivan the amazing Christmas service at Big Valley Grace called Behold the Lamb of God.  The Worship Team, Choir and Orchestra told a fresh and unique historical perspective of the story of Christmas.  It was an amazing service and I encourage you to attend if you are in the Modesto area.  Click the link picture below for more service information:

I finished up the latest in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich this evening ... Fearless Fourteen and plan to start the book Epicenter by Joel C Rosenberg at bedtime tonight.  Can't wait!

I also spent most of this evening continuing to work on Kate's album ... is it ever going to be finished?  Boy, I sure do hope so ... maybe tomorrow???

Heading to Texas

Bright and early in the morning I am on a jet plane to the great state of Texas ... I can't wait!!!  Tomorrow begins the annual McNeill family Thanksgiving adventure and Scott has taken the lead in planning our week of activities.  I am told that it includes Fiesta Texas, coastal fishing and bargain shopping in Mexico.  Sounds good to me!!

Here is a shot of a mini-album that I just completed for an upcoming class at Oh For The Memories.  I don't know the details yet, but when I do I will be sure to post the information here.  If you are interested in taking the class, call Deb at 209-524-2900.  The album includes two metal impression pages that I am totally digging right now ... it is a whole new addiction for me.

I also just finished completing a series of holiday tags for the upcoming Flurry of Fun that is being held on December 6th at Oh For The Memories.  You can get a peek at the tags for the class below:

 

One guess who inspired these lovely creations ... that's right T!m Holtz.  Deb and I ran into him at the Carson Stamp Show when we were down in Los Angeles for the Gypsy Caravan.  Nicky and Rita let it slip that they were headed to the stamp show after the caravan and we just invited ourselves along for the ride.  I believe it shocked Tim that I was there.  He told me how blow away he was receiving the wine and tasting book that I sent him early this year.  It was great to catch up with him and Mario.  I can't wait to take another series of classes from him as he continues to push my creative boundaries!!!

 

I gotta go ... one more project to complete before I begin packing for my trip tomorrow.  I know ... nothing like waiting until the last minute ... but that is how I roll.

I saw a sign the other day and I should have gotten it ... it stated that "If it wasn't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done."  Boy, if that isn't a sign that fits me!