Hello Fall

I remember vividly the fall season when our family lived in Niagara Falls and Wilmington, DE.  Beautiful rich colors of the trees and a trip into Pennsylvania for apples from the farm.  All those vivid pictures stored neatly in my brain from before the age of 10.  To my amazement the tree across our driveway at the ranch in 2010 burst forth color hardly ever seen from a native tree.  Had to document the tree in this glorious color!

I used Papers from Studio Calico, Echo Park and Ruby Rock-it.  Embellishments from Fancy Pants, Prima and Studio Calico.  Stencil from Crafters Workshop, Mists and Paints from Art Anthology and Tattered Angels.  Inks from Tim Holtz Distressed Line.

Looking in the distance across my neighbor's pasture is pretty green trees!  I thought while at the ranch this weekend I would take the photo of the same tree this year just a few days over three years.

This time you see dead trees in the back of the tree and water.  In 2010 our neighbor built a tank and chose not to cut the trees down in part of the area where the water would back up.  A common practice to allow cover for fish.  As you can see the grass is shorter and the tree just turning color.

At the same time I am reminded that the early fall rains we have had in abundance I might add have allowed for rye grass to come up and given the summer grasses somewhat a spurt of growth in the warm days of October this year.  Yet you do not see the tall summer grasses we had in fall of 2010.  2011 would put my world to a test that it had not seen since the droughts of the '30's and '50's.  The old timers around town would say the summer of 2011 was far worse then the Dust Bowl.  And it certainly claimed many trees.  Somehow this tree survived.

You can see the damage the drought caused as it fought to survive and did.

Living in my world at the ranch is an amazing one.  Like wishing I had the camera as I sat in the Kawasaki Mule and some movement caught my eye of a baby skunk within arms reach waddling by as if he owned the world back in 2007.  Or would have that youngster given me a spray I would never forget!  And I could list many more treats I get to see.  Life is very constant, my world moves in circles from one season to the next, one calving season to the next, from birth to death of a tree, an animal, or the garden. The cycle never ceases and the circle always begins again.  It's a constant I can count on never changing.  I wouldn't trade my life as a rancher for anything in the world.

I used my Mother Nature I put together for CKCB.  Do check what others have created with their kits.  I would also like to thank deanna13, a member of ACOT's community for the pointing me to the Creative Scrappers Sketch #255 for my inspiration.

May each of you have a blessed day!

Socke Family - Nuts About Sketches #273

I have to admit my very favorite layouts are Heritage!  I know I'm being repetitive!  They are though.  I find I have come to realize what is heritage to me is not to others.  As I have hosted the Heritage Challenge at ACOT for a year now,  I have found Heritage usually means to a person is a photo of one's grandparents generation taken before they were born.  At 52 years old I'm seeing Heritage photos of the late 70's and early 80's.  That makes one feel really old!  I was in college during that time, LOL!  Last month I did a layout for Nuts About Sketches #269 with my maternal tail female line of my great-uncle Tom (Thomas Moore Ramsay) at the age of 5.  Of course like John he too will eventually qualify in the Alden Database of the Alden Kindred. The photo was taken in October 1900.  He is the brother to John Alden Ramsay the subject of my blog post Heritage Challenges last week.  I just love how the layout turned out using BoBunny Timepiece.

Of course the Tattered Angels Mist had to be used.  I do believe the next layout is the first one in a very long time I chose not to  use any Tattered Angels Products on a heritage layout!

The Socke Family whom I have never met is a photo of Uncle Tom's daughter Barbara, my mother's first cousin and my second cousin.  She is shown here with her husband Hollis and daughters Judy and Joanne.  The photo was taken in 1952.

October Afternoon 5&Dime seemed to be the perfect line to use for a 1950's photo.  What I loved the most when I added the Washi Tape, I found the numbers in the Prima Engraver's Tape would take the color of the cardstock with a slightly lighter shade.  I should have known it would do so as the numerals are white and opaque, but still a pleasant surprise!  I'm just really starting to get a collection of tapes together and learning how they perform on a layout!  I also could have trimmed the top of the photo, but I find how photos are developed and presented are often part of the fun of heritage layouts!  The way photos are presented change with the history how photography has developed!

Nuts About Sketches #273 is a wonderful sketch to use weather you want multiple photos as the sketch calls for or just a single photo as I used!  Thank you Shawn for a great sketch to work with!

It's also always fun when one can combine your design team work with a challenge at your favorite scrapping community!  This fit perfectly the A Cherry On Top July 2013 Holiday Challenge!  So much fun to make any layout with the following 4th of July staple elements: Stars & Stripes along with a little washi tape!

Until next time.....

BOOM!

As I scrap the photos my son gave me for an album(s) that will be his, I am reminded often I scrap them through a mother's eyes and not necessarily through his eyes as he sees the photos.  Prima's line Craftsman so fits the men in my family, Larry and James.  I've left space for him to journal about the photos if he wishes.    Yet this layout Mom did the journaling through the word stickers as she knew about the incident portrayed in the photos later that day.  When James saw the layout he smiled and said, 'That's great Mom!'  One of those comments Mom's just love when they also see the expression on their child's face.

Andrew and James have been good friends for years.  James had just purchased the bike in the photo and Andrew wanted to try it out.  The neighborhood we live in is very different then most Houston area neighborhoods.  The lots are a minimum of one acre.  There are few privacy fences so there is a feeling of a large spaces.  After driving up and down our street in the neighborhood he ventured through the rest of the neighborhood.  On one curve Andrew didn't take the curve well and slid the bike into the ditch.  Fortunately no injury's to him or the bike.  Of course Jame's took the photos.  James' friends have followed suit and they all have bikes now and spend one or two weekends riding together each month.  Andrew's entire family now has bike's and they ride as a family.

The inspiration for this layout came from Nuts About Sketches #256.  It's a wonderful sketch where you can easily make it as intricate one wants or a very quick simple layout!

I loved the detail of the sketch.  I started by not wanting to add the frame with the sketch.  When I purchased the Craftsman line from A Cherry on Top, I was in the state of, 'Washi Tape, WHY?  The Prima Craftsman Washi Tape came in my October Paper Bakery Scrapbooking Kit!

 I had this sudden realization this little jewel with the light bulbs was perfect for the layout.  A couple of minutes later I had the broken frame representing a light bulb moment and the mishap Andrew had about riding a bike.  I was stunned at the ease of use the ability to re-position the tape and now was hooked on Washi Tape.  Promptly my Wishlist at A Cherry on Top became one third full of Washi Tape!  Most of  the Washi Tape is represented by Prima in my Wishlist.

By the way if you have not discovered Paper Bakery Kit Club you need to take a peek at the fabulous Scrapbooking Kits, Project Kits, and Mixed Media Kits.  Sarah puts together the best kits ever!  An added plus is the fabulous design team Sarah has put together.  Check their projects out on Paper Bakery Kit Blog!  Next week, March 18-22 Paper Bakery Kit Club Blog will be teaming up with Elle's Studio blog for some fantastic fun and inspiration with a give-a-way or two during the week!  I'll be there and I can not wait to get this month's kit!