Life's Notes

This past weekend the ladies I met when I started to scrap still get together for a monthly crop.  It's held at Cutaway Lodge.  I absolutely quiet atmosphere, watching movies and seeing what all my friends are working on.  Good friends, good food and scrapping....heaven for me!

I love the bi-weekly MMC (Monday Morning Crops) hosted by art_teacher at the message board at A Cherry On Top.  We have such a grand time.  Four challenges presented for the first crop this summer.  For this layout I chose MMC 6-3 Challenge #1.  The challenge had a sketch and required a music theme.

At the crop Saturday I picked out three papers from my May Paper Bakery May Scrapbooking Kit:  Crate Paper Maggie Holmes Dreamy & Moments along with Studio Calico Sundrifter Vellum.  I completely cut up the Dreamy paper to mat photos and fussy cut nine cameras.  Took my CM Hexagon punches and used three different size hexagons.

Here's the sketch:

And here's My Creation: 

I took myself down memory lane of where I was when my mother took these photos in late spring 1984.  Of course Mom has never been able to take a good photo to save her life.  I was working for Royal Palm Arabians at the time in Lake Worth, FL.  And missing my home state something terrible.  I also went back and remembered my four years in high school with Koki my constant companion in the afternoons after school.  Weekends I was at a play day or Competitive Trail Ride.  Most would not think a barrel racing horse and Competitive Trail Horse would be one and the same.  But Koki was both.  She always took me 1st or 2nd in every single ride I rode in Youth or Adult Competition.  All of the conditioning for trail made her a better barrel horse.  We dropped two seconds off her time.  She had something to look at other then the rails of an arena day in and day out.

I also smiled as I looked back at another post back in 2009 what it was like to grow up in the Clear Lake area with Koki and my FFA friends.  Thank you for the challenge art_teacher!

Until next time!

Ibn Zubaydahh

I want everyone to give a great big wave to Department of Homeland Security for doing their job!!!  It's just little ole me again with my Arabian Horses.  This time it's Zuby, with his registered name Ibn Zubaydahh and as you scroll through my blog you'll find his sire is Tammen and his dam is Zubaydahh.  And he has an older full brother Abcar Ibn Tammen aka AC.  By the way DHS investigator we appreciate you keeping us safe and please

I had an absolutely wonderful time using this sketch from Nuts About Sketches #258!  

Zuby is pictured here in May of 1993 as a young colt.  He's showing off a little and having some fun.

Now at the age of 21 he still plays in the pasture with his friend Bogart when he's feeling really good.  He has lived a year with thyroid cancer and shows no sign of  an additional slow down since being diagnosed a year ago. Everyday I treasure each and every interaction I have with this grand old gentleman.  I noticed this weekend Zuby has self braid his mane in to one horrible mess that only a pair of scissors will fix.  How he does that in a single day is beyond me!  He constantly reminds our now four year old Bogart that with age comes wisdom.  And I have seen in the last year Bogart has learned a huge amount from Zuby on how to live life as well as still defer to his best friend as herd leader although it is only the two of them.

Now you might be wondering why I'm writing about DHS.  I suppose with the recent happenings in Boston they will once again come looking at me.  Zubaydahh was born in the early 1980's given her name by her breeder Tom McNair a respected trainer/breeder in the Arabian Breed.  When I posted the layout in 2010 I happened a little under a week later on looked at the tracking of entries into our ranch website via our web server.  I wasn't surprised I was investigated I just didn't think I would know.  Not my fault my mother's beloved mare would share a name with a terrorist who would be killed by our country or that she would name Zu's last foal after his mother 21 years ago.  The difference is in the spelling of the name Zu had two "h's" where the evil one had one "h". They will find little ole me with Arabian horses, Lowline Cattle, an avid scrapper, and a huge love for my country and it's deep history I so dearly love to continue to learn.  I am a constant reader as it relates to my family lineage all the way back to the Pilgrims on my side of the family and on Larry's side the tidewater of North Carolina and how his family arrived in Texas before Stephan F. Austin.  They will also find out how much I love my state and it's rich history as the only state to have once been a nation.  One of my favorite sites is Texas Courthouses.  We have the most amazing collection of courthouses in the state.  I've started on my journey to photograph all 254 courthouses as well as scrap those photos.  It's a bucket list thing for me. They have written in the past it's a 200,000 mile journey on the Texas Courthouse website.  I am so excited at the prospect to see every one and read of the history of each county on the historical markers that can be found at each courthouse.  And if you wonder here's a layout of the Leon County Courthouse with more to come.

So wave to DHS on your way out and know they are really trying to keep us safe.  Have a great day Mr. or  Ms DHS investigator!

And a big whoop with two posts in two days!  

Halloween 1988

How exciting we leave for the National Western Livestock Show!!!  Whoop!

Somewhere in a lower post I promised to catch up on my layouts for Nuts About Sketches!  So here goes, and look for two or three a week to get them up on my blog because Shawn's sketches are definitely something to brag about!

Halloween has always been a favorite time of year.  Maybe because my birthday is the day before and my dear Mother's birthday is the day after.  We tease each other and say 'Your almost a Witch!'  When you grow up with three days in a row of celebrating something it truly was a time when I was a child to look forward to.  I finally got around to posting my two beautiful children when they were little ones.  Lynn is 21 months and James is three months.  I think the biggest transition I see is in my ability to take better photos.  I'm more patient with myself in taking a photo.  I don't get in a huge hurry any more.  I've also realized I need  to turn that camera 180 degrees.  And I'm thinking about it enough I'm getting more portrait photos.

My two are cutie pies in these photos!  I just loved how this layout turned out using products from my September Paper Bakery Kit Club goodies!

And of course the Nuts About Sketches # 236 is a definite fun sketch to work with!

I have fallen in love with every kit Paper Bakery sends my way.  A great place for something a little different to challenge your mind a definitely a must view page!  oooo....wouldn't I love to be on their design team, maybe sometime in the future!  This month my Add-on Kit I subscribe to and then I couldn't resist the Project Kit I will present to my SIL when I arrive at their house for Thanksgiving.  LOL....don't worry she doesn't even know I blog!  In just a few minutes I'll have it hanging from their balcony and have a picture of it!  October Project Kit:

And this is this September's Add-On Kit which is still available:

Have a wonderful week paper crafting and don't forget to check out this week's sketch at Nuts About Sketches.

Radiance

I just knew the photo and products I wanted to use for this week's Nuts About Sketches Sketch #249!  Shawn once again provided an exquisite sketch to work with!

The photo is my great-aunt Laura, sister to my maternal grandmother  This is on the day of her second marriage  She is my maternal grandmother's sister  Taken May 1939, but no date on the back of the photo in my grandmother's writing.  Lily Bee Design products from Hello Sunshine and Lovely were perfect for this photo.  Aunt Laura really does look absolutely radiant.  The great rub-ons from Hello Sunshine were perfect for the title and journaling!

Last night I opened the February Sketches sent by Shawn!  Oh my gosh.....just can't wait until everyone gets to work with them!!!  Don't forget to check out this week's sketch and post your creations to the post!

Friend

I haven't written a post in like forever!  Two things I have decided I have to do this year!  Blog more often and call my friends more often!

We are off to the National Western Livestock Show in the great city of Denver on Wednesday!  We'll get to see all of our Lowline friends and some great cattle competing in the National Lowline Angus Show.  Our Australian friend Margo Hayes will be in attendance this year at the show and we are looking forward to meeting her for the first time in person.  I look forward to her insights into the Lowline as a beef breed.  As Texans not use to snow, we are delighted for the second time in as many years to have nice weather!  A great plus since we stall in the Pens.  None of our cattle are going this year as our entire show string is much younger then last year and we worry about their immune systems.  My new Nikon D3100 will be in tow and I hope to get a huge number of great photos.

The real object of this post though is a first for me.  The first time I've taken on a challenge from one of the many companies of the wonderful scrapping products we so love!  I have always loved Imaginisce products, but have been clueless how to work with them.  Bright, fun, cute has always been a block for me.  I always try to work outside my box.  I love deep rich earth colors, they are my comfort zone.  The solution was to go to the Imaginisce blog.  The design team has absolutely amazing projects!  A few dollars later and I was scrapping!  I began to realize I really could scrap with their products when I dived into the challenge!  The challenge each month supplies a sketch from one of the design team members plus a twist to the sketch.  Diana Fisher supplied the sketch and the twist was using blue somewhere in the layout and use one word to describe your outlook for the year!  I had so much fun with the sketch!  I flipped it due to the photo orientation and chose the word friend!  Goes hand in hand with calling my friends more often this year.

And this is the sketch!

  The photos were taken by my lovely daughter Lynn a couple of years ago.  I absolutely love the Sole Sisters line!  Thank you Imaginisce for the great inspiration!  I look forward to even more inspiration in the coming months!  I have become hooked on your products!  Especially the new Childhood Memories line!!!!  It's definitely coming to my home!

Reagan

Wow! I loved the sketch from Pink Sketches #21. I love circles! Yet, as I started really thinking about the sketch I found I was thinking curves. I started pulling paper and was thinking how striking Charlie was against white. Well his son would surely be, too. I'd been wanting to try a technique I saw in Scrapbooks, etc. issue Jan. '09 on page 133, titled: Quick Class Woven Together. Lisa Storms used a Square Scalloped piece of card stock and some pastel embroidery thread to creat a woven patten on the paper. I thought the LO she created stunning. In my mind I saw a Circle Scalloped Cardstock done the same way. The result would look like petals on a flower. If the picture was placed just right on the page those lines coming to the center of the cardstock would draw your eyes to the picture. Cool, was my only thought. When I saw this sketch I knew exactly how I would do this LO. I loved the result!





I felt I stayed true to the sketch by using buttons on the flowers to have my circles. Even the ribbon has a circular burst. The circle mat has circles within it and the card stock I used for the title matches the color of one of those small circles in the mat.

Here's what I used. Paper: Basic Grey Paper from the Scarlet's Letter collection (Fate & Among The Ruins) and Quickutz QuickStripz Tropical Yellow. Ribbon: GCD Studios Winter Wonderland. Thread: DMC # 349. Flowers: Buttons Galore and More Fiesta Felt. Assorted Buttons from my stash with DMC Thread White. Pen: Creative Memories Bold Tip Black.

Reagan is a 2008 February calf. He is a striking son of Mr. Double TT 31 aka as Charlie from my last post out of Five Oaks 1/5. 1/5 gives us some striking calves with Reagan's older sister Jillian in our current show string. Reagan always has had that look at me attitude. His pictures so easy to take. Right now he is going through his gain test and if he passes he will be on his way to be sold as a herd bull.

I hope you will check out Pink Sketches site, as their sketches are great to work with.

Kim

Daisy D's Closing & Charlie

I found a blog quite by accident looking for a picture of the new specialty coverset album put out by Creative Memories. The album is called Wishes and Dreams. I must say it is beautiful. I had to order one. The joys of being a hobby consultant. Find a local consultant for the new Spring Catalog and March/April Mini Brochure. It's their semi-annual big release of new product.

Back to the blog I found. The blog is titled is Cake, Cocoa, & Gossip by Becks Fagg. Becks is from the UK as listed on her blog. She is manages "Creativity Life" a magazine I've not heard of so I assume it is only in the UK, maybe Europe, too. Yet I'm not sure of any of that. On her entry for today she annouces the closing of Daisy D's. So I went to Daisy D's website and sure enough they are closing. It was hard for me to know Daisy D's is going belly up. I've never been a big fan of theirs but I know many who are. I do have some of their border tapes and I struggle to get them to apply evenly, yet I LUV LUV the idea. It looks as if you the consumer can buy directly from Daisy D's, as this was the first time I've been to their site. Speaking of Scrapbooking Companies, Creative Memories parent company went into reorganization and has come out with a new plan to restructure which has been approved. Creative Memories was never in danger of folding though as they are very solvent, but they too have seen a down turn in number of consultants which means less income. I'm spending less and have moved to getting the much needed framing done instead of scraping supplies. I'll start buying Christmas Presents for my nieces & MIL within the month. I'm spreading it out over the year to only maintain my consultant hobby status.

Back to Beck's Blog. She had some wonderful photos up on her site of some of the new things at CHA. When I have more time this week I'll return to dive into her writings and maybe become a follower of her blog.

Onto my LO for 52 Sketches...52 Weeks. Sketch 2009 #7. My subject, Charlie. Every time I write his name I think of "Charlie Brown." He's Lynn's Santa Gertrudis Bull and she hates it that I compare him to Charlie Brown. Yet, his personality is both playful and he always wants the attention the girls get. I'll be somewhat sad to see him sold this year after spring breeding. He just has too many daughters on the ranch to justify the cost to keep him. We are moving to maintain only Lowline bulls, and use Artifical Insemination work on our Santa Gertrudis with clean up by our Lowline bulls. This picture I was able to capture of Charlie was the best shot I took of all of the cattle last spring. I was thrilled when I saw it in the camera. I thought, oh if only I'd had the Cannon Rebel at the time. I'm still drooling over that camera. I'm still wishing I had a Rebel.



As for the LO. I rotated the sketch and went to my scraps to find the perfect pieces for the LO. I had fun using my Quickutz Archiver's Exclusive Patterned Bracket's 4x4 die to make my brackets. That die was a purchase I couldn't live without! Has three different brackets that measure 3 3/4" when cut out. LOVE THEM! I also LUV the Bazzill Stitchez templates and used DMC 814 thread, a deep cherry red, as that is the color the Santa Gertrudis are known for. I really love all of the LO's that were done for this week by those who participated and their was overall great compliments on the sketch by the members of the 52 Weeks...52 Sketches community. If you've not jumped over to Julie's site, you really should!

Have a great weekend!

Kim