Birthday Bowling

To celebrate Harry's birthday, our family and Kristine went bowling. Some of us did quite well, while I firmly held down last place. There was lots of laughter, and we all had a blast!

In the last game, Kristine and John were neck-and-neck the whole game. The photo of the scoreboard shows them tied in the 8th frame. Kristine won in the end, but John is still her friend.

This was a challenging set of pages to make. Can you tell I tried some new things? With the aid of stock photos, I “made” a bowling ball and bowling pin. That was SO COOL! I included talk bubbles for the first time. I think they add a bit of humor. I also experimented with shadows to make the bowling ball and pin at the bottom of the first page appear more 3-D. These are all little things, but they really get me charged up!

There’s still one more layout from Harry’s birthday celebration in the works!

Sue



Credits:
Materials: Template 87, Simply Yin; “Fresh” (some items modified), Stolen Moments & Digi-designs By Nicole; “From the Heart” alpha, Suzy Q Scraps; Talk Bubbles (modified), The Maltese Scrapper; Stock photos by Jeremy Sanders, Sachin Ghodke, diermit, and Bas Driessen, stock.xchng; bowling ball, pin, and lane made by me with the aid of my photos or stock photos
Programs: GIMP, PSE 6
Fonts: Sans, Sans Bold

Talk Bubbles:
- I can’t believe it! Another split!
- Mom’s taking ANOTHER picture! I’ll pretend to be excited.
- Now, what color was my ball?
- I hope I don’t fall on my face!
- A little more to the left …
- We’re still friends even though you’re beating me.

Playing at the Park

We all had a great time when we visited the park close to where we used to live ten years ago. You never outgrow fun. However, you can outgrow the play equipment.

Sue



Credits:
Materials: Template 87, Simply Yin; “Fresh” (some parts modified), Stolen Moments & Digi-designs by Nicole; “Picnic” grass (re-colored), Joni Gray Digi-Scrap Freebies; “Bruissements d'Ailleurs” sun - Mihiana (modified), Au coin de l’objectif
Programs: GIMP, PSE 6
Fonts: Boopee Bold, Minya Nouvelle Bold

The phrases printed on the green ribbons include:
.... SHOUT .... CHORTLE .... SMILE .... LAUGH .... GIGGLE .... PLAY TAG .... RUN FAST .... SPIN AROUND .... ACT SILLY .... JUMP UP .... SWING HIGH .... DIG DIRT .... CLIMB TREES .....

Belated Birthday Bash

We celebrated Harry's birthday a couple of weeks late, but we sure had fun! Kristine joined our family for the day as we went bowling, played in the park, ate pizza and cake, and watched a movie. Kristine and I bowed out of the 5-hour Monopoly game, but Harry and the boys seemed to enjoy it. Maybe it's a guy thing.

It truly was a day to remember! This is the second layout I've made about this wonderful family time; the first was "Big Boys, Little Toys", the last post. I have three more double pages in the works, so watch for them in the coming days.

Sue

Credits:
Materials: “ Fresh”, Stolen Moments & Digi-designs by Nicole; CU party hat (modified “Fresh” papers) & “Birthday Cow” cupcake candle (modified), Kim B’s Designs; Template 12, Sugarplum Shanty
Programs: GIMP, PSE 6
Fonts: Shark Random Funnyness; Arial Bold

Big Boys, Little Toys

We went back to see the house we owned ten years ago (1997-1999). Afterward, the boys tried the play equipment at the park nearby, but somehow everything seemed smaller.

It was a riot to see these four guys try to cram into a dinky car on a spring! Balancing the load without dumping over was a big challenge. Notice David is literally pulling Steven's leg, John is grimacing in the back, and Steven is falling out of the car. In one of the photos you can't even see Harry, but be assured he was buried somewhere in there!

Sue



Credits:
Materials: “Funky Flowers” black paper, Joni Gray’s Digiscrap Freebies; “My Guy” alpha, Ziggle Designs; alphabet blocks, Gunhild Storeide; “Little Man” car (re-colored), Scrappyweiss Designs; CU grosgrain ribbons, Shazbutt Digi-Scrapz
Programs: GIMP, PSE 6
Font: Huxtable

Puppy Love

My sister and her family just adopted a puppy. Bred from a 20-pound male miniature poodle and a 60-pound female golden retriever, this miniature golden doodle is non-shedding and hypoallergenic. I didn’t know dogs could be hypoallergenic. As you can see from the photos below, there were smiles all around when Riley came home. Isn’t he cute?

Sue



Credits:
Materials: Template 2, Jenn Murphy Scraps; “Best Friend” elements (re-colored & modified), Digi-Designs By Nicole; DSO October 2009 Color Challenge (papers, modified), Light Mistress; “Falling For You” alpha, Scraps N Pieces (Lori Nielsen & Heidi Marchant); “Love & Joy” (“Love” wordart, re-colored), Stolen Moments; chrome heart (modified), Delicious Scraps; Gunhild Storeide CU jeans texture & my texture (photo, title and journal mats)
Programs: GIMP, PSE 6; Font: Arial Bold
I submitted these pages to the DSO October Color and Animal Kingdom Challenges.

Artists' Point

This unique rock formation is only one of the different eye-catching vistas we saw at Artists’ Point, a scenic spot on the shores of Lake Superior at Grand Marais, Minnesota. I just HAD to take lots of photos!

Don't strain your eyes trying to read the sign. You can find the text below the layout.

Sue

Credits:
Inspiration: “Sophia at the Beach”, Vanessa
Materials: “Artistic Moments”, “Bright Lights” (cloud only), A Work in Progress (some parts re-colored); CU wooden frame, Misstyscrap
Programs: GIMP, PSE 6
Fonts: Painty Paint, Arial
I submitted this layout to the DSO October Scraplift Challenge.

Welcome to Artists’ Point

Named for the many people who try to capture the temperamental spirit of Lake Superior on film or canvas, thousands of visitors are drawn to this beautiful place each year. While some are introduced to Lake Superior and this particular piece of shoreline for the first time, others visit often to say hello to a place that has been shaped by immense periods of time. The molten rock flowed from deep beneath the Earth’s surface up to 1.6 billion years ago. Today this region is considered one of the most geologically stable in the world. The breakwall to the southwest protects the Grand Marais Harbor from the Lake’s volatile outbursts. Many different species of waterfowl and shorebirds can be seen from Artists’ Point, including herring gulls, killdeer, common goldeneye, buffleheads, mallards, and Canada geese.

Enjoy this moment in time, and please use caution on the many slippery surfaces you might encounter.

Giddy-Up

At our church in Okinawa, sometimes our boys would play “horsey” with the younger kids. They had to watch out for low doorways, wiggly “riders”, choke holds and force “feedings”. It was still tons of fun for all!

Sue

Credits:
Materials: “Giddy-Up”, Joni Gray’s Digiscrap Freebies (wood paper altered)
Programs: GIMP, PSE 6
Fonts: Outlaw, Arial Bold, Arial Narrow Bold Italic Condensed
I submitted this layout to the October Altered Photo and Font Challenges.

New Sister

My sisters and I share many, many special memories. This picture shows the start of our trio. I am very blessed to have my wonderful sisters Nancy and Liz.

Sue

Credits:
Scraplifted from “Johnny” by Chaos Lounge
Materials: “Summer Come Early”, Mels Lightbulb Moments and Stacey’s Scraps (some parts re-colored); “In the Pink”, A Work in Progress (square bling frame); CU materials from Tottlebugz (CU circular bling frame) and Delicious Scraps (glitter)
Programs: GIMP, PSE 6; Font: Sans
I submitted this layout to the September DSO Scraplift and “Days Gone By” Challenges.