Two Very Special People

I'm trying to find a few minutes each day to unzip my digital scrapping kit files and actually have fun scrapping some of my older photos. Usually this time comes very late at night when others begin to settle into bed to read or watch TV as they gently fall off to sleep. That's when I get all wound up to create something because I can finally hear my own inner voice at long last! I always have java in hand (it doesn't keep me awake, either), and during the last couple of those late night sessions I was inspired by two new designer samplers from the blog of Crops2Dawn Creations whom I just found recently. I've already fallen for her work, too! I could immediately see these layouts finished when I popped open her downloads, and that's how I like to work . . . . . as it hits me! Below I've wrapped up two very special people in these lovely designs, my parents! These photos were taken in the '06 Autumn, and from the second story backyard terrace my folks have a lovely view of their "40 acres" and the fall splendor in the mountains that surround them. I am extremely pleased with how these two kits complimented the fall photos so nicely! Remember, I'm a newbie at this, so these may look simple to some; but to me they are already priceless!! For the layout above, I used "Autumn Moments"; for the layout below, I used "Fall Goodies".How sweet is all this? I normally scrap to a 12 x 12 inch page, 300 dpi (3600 x 3600 pixels). My intent for the future is to leave my children all these lovelies in digital form on DVD slideshow format so they can simply pop it in to their DVD's and watch something with fairly good resolution on their big flat screen TV's! However, I also will not be able to keep myself from printing these out in 8 x 8" pages or ordering this size from the online printing services that offer this great size to compile cute smaller square scrapbooks to give as gifts along the way! I'm very enthralled with this new hobby that takes up absolutely no space in my already over-packed home! Thanks all you wonderful folks out there who contribute to my addiction!

Baked Pineapple Recipe - YUM!

I've managed to scrap a few of my favorite old standby "never fail" recipes, you know, the ones you pull out and use repeatedly over time, the ones that everybody likes when you have a gathering, the ones that always taste and look the same when they come out of the oven, no matter what mood you were in when you began! Mine are a collection from relatives and life-long friends, and I don't know their origins. I can tell you, however, I am not a gourmet cook; but I am a good cook and I can throw on an impressive feed in short order! I look for combinations of basic ingredients that I recognize, simplicity of the concoction, and finally how well it's received by the lucky folks I test it on. That's how I decide whether or not it stays in my recipe box! I'll share only that type here, basic good food. I classify myself as a good ole country cook; nothing too fancy, but good flavor and good looks.

My first share is "Baked Pineapple" which I have scrapped. It came to me years ago from a Beta Sigma Phi sorority sister, Nancy D., whom I considered to be a great cook. She had a beautiful smile and was always telling stories in such a manner that the rest of us were kept in stitches.

This layout is a 12 x 12" jpg, 300 dpi in case you want to print it, but you can easily size it down to an 8 x 8" if preferred. You can download it here. Credit: Kit "August Shadows" by Miriam Lima found in FxFoto.

Bear with me, I'm still new at putting all this together. If you find something here that isn't working correctly, shoot me a message by email or leave me a comment about it so I can learn how to fix it. Happy cooking!

Sentimental Photo

Coming home from our trip north recently, we stopped at the foot of what I lovingly call "Walton's Mountain" to snap a sentimental shot of the sign-post my hubby's family erected after his father's passing. This is at the bottom of a long driveway winding up Elmer's mountain where the homeplace sets and where lots of the offspring have settled around the homplace in nests of their own, much like acorns falling off the tree. Across from this driveway flows the beautiful Greenbrier River where the "youngins" learned to swim, fish, boat, camp out, and take advantage of the great outdoors in general. Many have moved on far and wide, but they always return to visit and remember the good ole days of their youth. Without saying, I always know my hubby has a lump in his throat when we come and go from there, so that's what prompted me to pull over, stop, and capture this shot.

This layout was inspired by Leslie Emery's free sampler, Falling For Autumn, which you can find on her blog here. Other credits include: alpha and rick rack from designer Katie Mann's kit, "Colours of Heritage"; stone and brads from designer Kim Hall's kit, "Weekend Getaway", both of which can be found at online in the software from FxFoto.

I'm so busy this time of year with the cooler weather having finally arrived here in the south. It affords one a chance to be more active outdoors and get some things done. We put our muscles together and accomplished a renovation of the landscaping around our patio area that we have been musing over for, lets see, would you believe 13 years! That's right! I'm so proud, yes, I took pictures before and after and have scrapped them already thanks to another fall like inspiration from the blog of Lisa Joy called "Falling In". These ladies are so wonderful and gracious with their free scrapping gifts to help newbies like me along.

Well, that's it for tonight! I'm off to bed for some zz's! I've got few of my favorite recipes scrapped and ready to share with you in the next few days! Cooler weather brings on more heavy-duty cooking it seems!

Oh My Gosh! It's October!

Where have I been!? Busy as a bee, as always! Made a journey to WV (our former home) in mid Sept. so DL (hubby) could undergo a complete physical at The Greenbrier Clinic and we could have answers to some nagging problems at last! This world class medical facility is nestled in the mountains and boasts a highly skilled team of diagnosticians who can get the job done from head to toe in only two days. I know as I worked there for 26 of my best years. Believe me, peace of mind is worth the price. All is well, thank goodness! - - - Since returning home to the beach, fall has arrived in our southern night air; and we were inspired to undertake a huge outdoor landscaping remodeling project to open up our patio area to a more spacious feeling with less overall general maintenance. It's finished as of today, and I'm loving it! My DL always comes through for me as though he can truly visualize what's in my mind, and then he goes a step further and adds some of his own creativity. Thanks honey, it's spendid out there now and will be a great place we can better entertain during family and friend get-togethers! Ouch, our aching backs need to rest now! I'll post some before and after shots of the new area soon. - - - Meanwhile, I who sleep very little, was bitten by inspiration to create a new style necklace for my fall line which I think I will name my "Jazzy Series". It went well and blossomed into a full week of nonstop jewelry creations to which the end is not in sight as yet. Below are two color and style variations in the new series:

Black/Gray/Pearl White

Denim Blue Shades

Like all my handwork, the more I play with it the more ideas come into my head for it. Here's one in which I totally handmade all the links and hooked them together as I went. Talk about time-consuming! Visualize this; while others are smart enough to get their beauty rest, it's just me, java, and the jewelry tools! It's addictive, just like scrapping!

I sell my lovelies at local retail stores along the beach and in my online store, Knotty But Nice, where these will appear as soon as I can get my listings ready to post there, which is like a fulltime job in of itself! What in the world did we do before the convenience of digital cameras and computers??

In the mid zone of my brain maze is the fact that I need to scrap all the wonderful photos I took on the recent WV trip which include my very special "Miracle Mason" (grandson) picking tons of apples daily from the heavily laden trees in my parents' back yard, which of course I carried home via my trusty Dodge Dakota quad cab and shared throughout my southern neighborhood as these were cooking apples. The more apples we gave away, the more applesauce/applie pie, etc. kept showing up at my front door via sweet little elderly ladies looking like June Cleaver in their pretty kitchen aprons thanking us for sharing the apples with them! I made huge dishes of apple crisp with the portion I choose to keep and then shared those throughout the family and neighborhood. It was like an apple festival here for a week! I will post some photos of our apple adventures in future scrap layouts for sure!

Until then (when I shall be more organized, my eternal dream), keep smiling and I hope you're enjoying the cooler days/nights of the fall season!