Family Selfie

Selfie shots are all the rage these days. I'm not personally a fan of the selfie, although i do take them. I just don't post very many. Instead, I keep them for use in my Project Life album and my traveler's notebook. Or sometimes I just use them to torture my son (like when he gives me those goofy faces). ;)

And sometimes the selfies don't turn out all that great, especially when you're trying to do a group shot. 

But they can be fun - and memorable.

This past summer, my family took a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disneyland. Sure, we've all been to Disneyland before, but it was always separately. I think we took a family trip to Disneyland about a million years ago, when I was about 8 or 9. I actually don't recall, and we don't have a lot of photos from that trip. But this time, we decided to take my mother, who is now in her 80s and will probably never take the trip again. And I took a LOT of photos, as well as using the Photo Pass feature that we purchased with our trip package. Lots and lots of photos, not all perfect, but definitely memorable. 

One of my favorite photos is a family selfie that I shot with my phone while we were at the end of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride. It wasn't the best photo, but we were all smiling, my mother in particular - caught with a goofy grin and wearing her Mickey Mouse ears. Priceless. I finally scrapbooked that photo this past weekend.

We Are Family by cyranoscrap

CREDITS
Elements, papers: Family Forever (ninigoesdigi)
Template: DSD 2017 Freebie (Designed by Soco)
Font: Typewriterhand

Sometimes, it's just the not-so-perfect photos that capture the perfect moments!

Get the Family Forever collection from ninigoesdigi for 44% off through the end of today, as part of the Oscraps Mini O's sale! This collection also matches kits from other Oscrap designers, so you can mix and match to your liking.

Family Forever courtesy of ninigoesdigi

This Is 6

Last year at the portrait studio, the photographer wanted to try something a little different with my son's 6th year photos. She set him up, standing, facing away from the camera, and put a big number "6" on the floor, then shot the photo. She took two of these - one in color, the other in black and white. 

Although I wasn't sure when she took the photo, I LOVED the results when I saw the prints. However, it took me until THIS year (and this past weekend's crop at a friend's!) to actually scrap the photo. :) 

This is 6 by cyranoscrap

Credits

Paper: My Reflections - Snowhaven (Close To My Heart)

Ink: Cranberry and Glacier (Close to My Heart)

Rub-On Letters: American Crafts
Date Stamp: American Crafts

Pen: Slick Writer (American Crafts)
Photo: Picture People

Although the layout is really simple, it's exactly what I wanted to highlight the photo. And I'm super glad that the photographer changed things up a bit in the studio!

My (Almost) First Love

Last night, I had a very vivid dream. Not necessarily a happy dream, but definitely one that moved me enough to write about it today.

My dream was that someone I cared about very much in the past had died.

See, not a very happy dream.

A lot of the dream is fuzzy, the way that dreams sometimes feel like after you wake up. But I remember going into the memorial/funeral service, where the dark gray coffin (closed) was placed at the front of a crowded chapel. Having been raised Catholic, I performed the sign of the cross as I stood in the center aisle, yards away from the coffin - not wanting to get too close. After this small gesture, I moved to sit in the middle of a pew, waiting for the service to start.

As I sat, waiting, I was not aware of anyone else at the service, just focused on the gray box up front, feeling a numbness and removed from the scene playing out around me. The memorial began, then immediately changed to a darkened room, where a movie was presented to commemorate my friend's life. 

The professionally done movie (one of his brothers dabbled in film making) flashed on the screen with a childhood school photo of my friend grinning and the opening bars of The Beatles song "Hello, Goodbye" as the soundtrack.

Suddenly, I became aware of being squashed against the side of my chair - you know, where someone tries to share your chair, even though there isn't enough room, but you do it anyway because you want to be close to each other. I couldn't see a face due to the darkness, nor could I make out anything but a shape. Then a hand reached for my right hand. The hand was enveloped in a thin blanket, a blanket that covered the shape sharing my chair. I realized it was HIS hand, grasping mine, intertwining our fingers like we used to when we walked along together. A calmness flooded through me, comforting me in my grief. This was his way of telling me he was here, and I relaxed a bit against his presence, knowing he was with me.

I don't recall anything that happened after that. But feeling a person with you so vividly...it almost made me cry in my sleep. I haven't seen him in years - at least 10-12 years since our last encounter. And we've had minimal contact (i.e. email) since then. But one thing we shared when we were together: a sense of everything in the world being where it should be. It was one of the happiest times in my life - and his too, I'm sure. Our lives took different directions, as life does when you are young, so we parted. 

But I've never forgotten the guy who made me feel so alive, so right, so comforted. He wasn't my first love, but he definitely was the first guy that I ever considered spending the rest of my life with. And for that, he will always hold a special part of my heart.

Earlier this year, I captured a memory of this special person in a scrapbook layout:

Missing You Forever by cyranoscrap
Credits: Created with Forever Missed by ninigoesdigi

While I don't know if our paths will ever cross again, I still want to keep some of the memories that we shared, especially as time passes and my memory starts to fade.

And THAT is why I scrapbook.

The 5-Minute Birthday Card

It's about 20 minutes before I have to leave to drive my son to school. He said to me, "Mom, I need to bring my teacher a birthday card because her birthday was yesterday."

Being one of those "crafty moms," I should have a stash of ready-to-give cards, right? Ha! Yes, I do buy ready-made cards from Hallmark - usually a day or two (sometimes a week, if I'm organized) before the birthday/anniversary/event. Seeing that it was before 8 am, and there was no way I could even stop at a store on the way to school, I went into my den and quickly searched for a solution. 

I found a blank, all-occasion-type card and pulled out some stamps with birthday greetings. The result? The 5-Minute Birthday Card.

The front of the 5-Minute Birthday Card

Inside the 5-Minute Birthday Card

Wise Guy Birthday stamps from Close To My Heart

There you have it - the 5-Minute Birthday Card. I wasn't too frazzled, and my son was happy. It certainly saved my Monday morning. Crafty Mom to the rescue! :D

Planner Playday

On Friday, new planner pages (as well as a bunch of other new stamp goodies!) from Close To My Heart arrived!

This planner (in Sea Glass color) will be retiring soon, but you can get it on clearance!

Everyday Me Planner & Pages from Close To My Heart

Word Puzzle Stamp Set Bundle from Close To My Heart

And on Saturday, I made some time play with it. 

Adding some personalization to the planner

One of the decorated spreads

The First Day of School stamp is part of the August Stamp of the Month set. You can purchase it for $17.95 or get it for just $5 if you spend $50 during August.

Coloring in one of the dashboard pages

I'll present more details of the actual planner in coming posts. The planner itself has dashboard pages and some internal pages to color in as you wish. And when you add some stamps, you can truly make this planner your own! Can't wait to play a bit more - maybe this afternoon. ;)  If you're interested in seeing other fun products from Close To My Heart, check out my store!

A Kayak Adventure

Way back in my life before a child, I used to go places. (I know that sounds silly, but it's reality.) One of the memories I have of my childless days was a vacation taken in the San Juan Islands. To me, that vacation was a bit exotic and definitely outdoorsy, something I'm normally not, lol.

One of the adventures (among many) I had on that vacation was kayaking. I had never ever been kayaking in my life, and here I was, faced with a chance to do so in a beautiful environment. I swallowed all the little fears and said, "Yes!"

Thankfully, since this was before I even had a decent digital camera, there are a few photos (taken on film) from this experience:

Kayaking Adventure by cyranoscrap for Heather T.

Credits:
Camping (Heather T.)
Fonts: Shelter Me (date)

Camping, Heather T.'s newest release, is now on sale as part of Pickleberrypop's 11th Birthday Celebration. You can purchase this new kit for just $5 through August 5. Here's a quick preview:

Camping - Elements courtesy of Heather T.

 

Camping - Brushes & Overlays courtesy of Heather T.

Camping - Patterned Papers courtesy of Heather T.

Camping - Retro Papers courtesy of Heather T.

Camping - Arty Papers courtesy of Heather T.

Camping - Word Bits courtesy of Heather T.

Can you believe it? All those really cool elements - too bad I wasn't more of a camper! - THREE packs of papers, brushes and overlays, and word bits...ALL for just $5! I think it's a real steal for that price since there are so many ways to use this kit besides camping!

So if you're itching to get your outdoor adventures captured, pick up Camping before the sale is over on August 5!

Vacation Time - Good Thymes!

As part of our summer vacation, we took a family trip to Disneyland. This was a very big deal since it would be my son's very first trip there, I hadn't been there since I was in college, and my mom hadn't visited since I was a kid.

One of the things we scheduled was a Character Breakfast so my son could have a chance to get pictures taken and get autographs from some of the infamous Disney characters - in the event we missed them while gallivanting around the Magic Kingdom. As part of the experience, we were able to get an official Disneyland photograph with Chef Goofy while dining in Goofy's Kitchen. I loved some of the candid photos that they captured and used the new release of Kitchen Good Thymes from ninigoesdigi to create my layout.

First, here's a look at Kitchen Good Thymes. There are three separate packs, as part of Oscraps' 4th Friday:

Kitchen Good Thymes - Elements courtesy of ninigoesdigi

Kitchen Good Thymes - Patterns courtesy of ninigoesdigi

Kitchen Good Thymes - Solids courtesy of ninigoesdigi

I know this entire collection is going to come in handy for my future recipe book and any layouts I create of my cooking experiences! In the meantime, however, I knew that it would work perfectly with some of our outtakes from Goofy's Kitchen. 

My layout turned out like this:

Good Thymes by cyranoscrap for ninigoesdigi

I have to applaud those Disneyland photographers. Those candids are some of my favorites of the trip. 

So, if you're looking to spice up your family recipe book (the holidays will be here before we know it!) or want to capture some of your culinary creations, adding the Kitchen Good Thymes collection may be a staple for your digiscrap library. It's on sale through Monday, July 31 for less than $2 per pack! (If you're a newsletter subscriber, there's a special coupon code to get 50% off the FULL kit!) Plus, there's a freebie too:

Kitchen Good Thymes - Freebie courtesy of ninigoesdigi

How can you lose with an incredible deal like this??? Grab it now through Monday! And happy scrapping - and cooking!

An Ode to Audrey

Every now and again, a designer will come out with something that catches my eye. Today, it was a very cool and classic design: hand-painted clip art called Breakfast at Tiffany's, based on the famous movie of the same name.

Breakfast at Tiffany's clip art courtesy of Aftermidnight Designs

Looking through the pictures posted on Aftermidnight Design's Etsy page, you'll see beautifully hand-painted illustrations, perfect for classy invites, layouts to gush all about your Audrey Hepburn girl-crush, creating a few dashboards or pages for your planner or even personalizing some thank you notes. I can even imagine taking one of your favorite Audrey quotes and creating a wall hanging. I'll have to get my own copy of this classy design!

Resurrecting My Crafting

As usual, this blog has fallen by the wayside, similar to my crafting habits. I know how it happens: basically, real life gets prioritized, while any creativity gets shelved until I have more time or inclination.

While I haven't been blogging much - ha, at all! - it doesn't mean that I haven't done some crafting, memory keeping, or scrapbooking. I've managed to touch my Project Life album a few times, started an album for a trip to Disneyland, dabbled in a traveler's journal, created a mini album, and even made a few digital layouts. 

Working on my Project Life album back in April

Missing You layout by cyranoscrap for ninigoesdigi

Silly layout by cyranoscrap for Design by Heather T

Working on a layout at a crop in May

So, as you can see, there is evidence that I haven't fully stopped creating. ;)

One thing I've noticed is that when you don't create on a regular basis, it's very hard to get the mojo going. It takes me five times as long to create something, and I still feel like it's not quite right when I'm done. I miss those days when I finished a project and knew that it was just what I wanted.

I will attempt - again - to be more creative on a regular basis, whether it's scrapping, writing, photography, or even doodling - which I have yet to actually commit to doing. And, I'll even try to get more photos of my dabblings up here on the blog. 

We'll see how it all progresses! :D

You Are Extraordinary

Oscraps has their monthly Mini O's sale going on right now. Ninigoesdigi has a trio of packs that are on sale through tonight. They combine to make the kit Find the Extra in the Ordinary:

Elements:

Courtesy of ninigoesdigi

 The solid paper pack:

Courtesy of ninigoesdigi

The patterned paper pack:

Courtesy of ninigoesdigi

My page:

By cyranoscrap for ninigoesdigi

CREDITS
Find the Extra in the Ordinary elements, patterned papers, solid papers by ninigoesdigi

Template: Template 47 (ninigoesdigi)

Fonts: Skinny Marker (journaling), PW01Script (captions)

The papers in this kit are super fun, and I love the colors. These three packs mix and match with the rest of the February Mini O's at Oscraps. Grab them before the sale ends on Monday!

My Valentine

Still trying to get into the scrapping groove in-between all interruptions of daily life. I used one of the photos I took on Valentine's Day. While it was a quick snap right before I dropped the little guy off at school, it turned out well. I decided to feature it on my layout using Ume from ninigoesdigi. 

First, the kit:

Courtesy of ninigoesdigi

And here's the page I created:

My Valentine by cyranoscrap for ninigoesdigi

CREDITS

Ume by ninigoesdigi

Template: Happy Thoughts (Design by Soco)

Fonts: Underwood Champion (date, journaling), Tropical Brush Script (title)

I love Nini's brushes in this kit, which was one reason why I had to use a white background. This kit also has some gorgeous patterned papers. I'm just glad they.are versatile!

My Biggest Treasure

Once in awhile, one of my designer friends makes an absolutely beautiful kit that I cannot find a photo that is appropriate for the subject. This is one of those times. Design by Heather T. came out with a gorgeous kit called Mermaid Dreams.

Courtesy of Heather T.

The colors were inspiring, and quite honestly, it took me awhile to find the right photo to scrap. However, I am quite pleased with the results.

My Biggest Treasure by cyranoscrap for Heather T.

So much fun to pull out one of my favorite photos ever and use it with Heather's kit!

Goodbye 2016

Ninigoesdigi's first kit of the year, Tsubaki, is one I loved on sight. I think it was the red accents that drew me in. With the help of a template from Designed by Soco, I ended up creating a page that even surprised me, lol.

Here's a look at Tsubaki:

Courtesy of ninigoesdigi

I found a simple template from Designed by Soco in my stash and set to work creating this:

"Goodbye 2016" by cyranoscrap for ninigoesdigi

CREDITS
Tsubaki by ninigoesdigi
Template: Simply Clean No. 1 Templates (Designed by Soco)
Fonts: Breakout (title), Arctic (journaling, date)

There are some days when I surprise myself with what happens on my computer screen. :)

It's All About "I"

A new year. Once again, I'm trying to get back into the scrapping swing since somewhere along the way last year, life got so darn busy that there were other things that took precedence. Call it life. 

I did a layout yesterday, when the Month of Challenges kicked off at The Lilypad. It turned out just fine, especially since I was trying to flex my scrapping fingers and get the creative juices flowing. Whenever I've taken a big break, I usually have to pull out a template to get me started. 

Today, however, I couldn't find a template that would work for me. The challenge was to scrap about a letter that was significant to me. Figuring out which of the 26 letters of the alphabet to use was the hard part. I selected the letter "i" for my focus. 

Why the letter "i"? Well, take a look at my page...

"I" by cyranoscrap

CREDITS
Paper: Limitless (Pink Reptile Designs)

Elements: Limitless, Dreams and Gratitude (Pink Reptile Designs)

Doodles: Limitless and Optimistic (Pink Reptile Designs)

Font: Traveling Typewriter

There were some other guidelines for the challenge, but they weren't as important as the subject itself. I used this page as a "resolution" to myself. Let's hope that I can try to keep the momentum going in 2017!