Tis the Season to Be Jolly

There was a lot of laughter when our family got together at Christmastime in 2009. I don't remember what was so funny, but something Dad said started all of us laughing so hard that it was hard to stop.

Mon noel à moi by Thaliris (papers modified); Fonts: Holiday Home, Ariel, Segoe Script Bold; created using GIMP and PSE 6

I like pictures of people laughing because they make me smile. Did this make you smile, too?

Sue

A New Year Together

I'm so thankful for my wonderful parents. Their steadfast love for each other was the backbone of our family life as I was growing up. The older I get, the more I appreciate these two special people.

2011 frame from Outdoor Treasures by Dinphy; A Piece of My Life Add-on by Fanette Design; border design adapted from Pretty by Manue; Fonts: Gabrielle, Times and Times again
I submitted this layout to the January DSO Frame Challenge.
***DSO gallery standout (chosen by Dinphy)***

Sue

Adorable

Liz was not standing on her own, so Mom propped her up next to the couch for this cute picture. Wasn't she adorable?

Adorable Mini-Kit by Serene by RW; Font: Monotype Corsiva Italic
I submitted this layout to the January 16-31 IL Mini Madness Challenge.

Sue

Laugh: A Smile that Bursts

Steven was delighted with his new jack-in-the-box. He couldn't crank it himself, so Harry did it for him. Each time the little man popped up, Steven laughed and laughed, bouncing up and down in Harry's arms. This picture of the two of them always makes me smile.

Posh, Posh background paper by Jen Yurko; Soleil givré photo mask (modified) by Imagine by Fran; word art by Elegant Word Art; layout idea from IL Jan 2011 Scrapping U-Turn Challenge by Maya; photo edited using PSE and CoffeeShop actions; Font: Rockwell
As always, I used PSE for photo editing and GIMP, the marvelous free layer program, for layout design.
I submitted this layout to the IL Jan 2011 Scrapping U-Turn Challenge.
***DSO gallery standout (chosen by Bunny)***

Sue

Airheads

One way I try to get my creative juices flowing is by doing challenges at digital scrapbooking forums. I usually end up with layouts I would NEVER have made on my own. This is especially true of the page I am about to show you.

First, though, here is my inspiration piece, "Monsieur II" by Blanca Gomez. You can find it here posted at Poster Caberet, a site that sells posters from various artists.

As I looked at Gomez' poster, I thought, "Hmmmm... five balloons, five people in our family... Maybe I can use that idea!" Thus, "Airheads" was born. These are silly pictures from this past Christmas I decided to put in this unique layout.

Background paper and alpha from January Weekly Download by IL Team; CU cloud overlay by Delicious Scraps; inspiration from Monsieur II by Blanca Gomez; stock photo of hand; acrylic action by Atomic Cupcake; Font: Ellianarelle's Path; I submitted this layout to the IL January Inspiration Challenge.
***DSO Gallery Standout (chosen by Bunny)***

Journaling: For Christmas, 2010, I gave Harry and the boys cold weather gear for their foreheads and necks. I should have known better.

What do you think? Different, huh?

Sue

Bath Time

Mom always said I was a happy baby. Here is the full photo I used to make the avatar in the last post.

January 2011 DSO Color Challenge Kit by Joni Gray Digiscrap Freebies; stitchin by Gunhild; Fonts: Stamp Act, Veteran Typewriter; Design scraplifted from “Thankful” by mrsburgess
I submitted this layout to the January DSO Color Challenge.
***DSO Gallery Standout (chosen by Joni and Dinphy)***

Sue

A New Avatar

According to dictionary.com, an avatar is "a graphical image that represents a person, as on the Internet".

Here is the new avatar I just made. I confess I am a little older now than I was when this picture was taken.Sue

Priceless

A day with glorious weather, beautiful scenery, and my wonderful husband . . . . . . Priceless

Dream Anew by Jen Reed (papers, elements, alpha); Font: Roman Antique, Porcelain; frame cluster inspired by 5-photo frame from Outdoor Treasures by Dinphy
***DSO Gallery Standout (chosen by Bunny)***

Sue

More Craziness

Yes, I know, I just did a layout very similar to this one. I submitted that earlier page to a DSO challenge.

I wanted to turn in the same page for a challenge for Inspiration Lane (IL), too, so I used a kit from IL in order to get more "points". I think the redo has a totally different feel. What do you think? Which do you like better?

IL December 2010 Weekly Download Kit (frame modified) by IL Team Members; Fonts: Monotype Corsiva Italic, Arial, Engravers MT Bold Expanded, Baveuse, Quadranta Bold, Bosshole, Calvin and Hobbes, Earwig Factory, GiovanniITCTT, Gorilla Heavy, Kristen ITC Semi-Expanded; inspired by ad selected by Jen Reed
I submitted this layout to the IL January Techniques and Trends Challenge.

Sue

Christmas Craziness

At Christmastime, our family often plays a game with inexpensive, wrapped gag gifts. At the end of the game, each person opens their presents, and we all laugh at the odd combinations. Here is a list from this year: David, tiny purse; Dad, huge sunglasses; Mom, stuffed caterpillar; Marie, huge foam hand; John, clown nose and hat, posing with Dad's sunglasses; Russ, dancing marshmallow man; Bill, tiara.

DSO December 2010 ABC-Album Challenge Kit and Christmas Sampler, Joni Gray Digiscrap Freebies (frame modified; plastic hexagonal frames made using Atomic Cupcake action); Fonts: Monotype Corsiva Italic, Minya Nouvelle Bold, Engravers MT Bold Expanded, Baveuse, Quadranta Bold, Bosshole, Calvin and Hobbes, Earwig Factory, GiovanniITCTT, Gorilla Heavy, Kristen ITC Semi-Expanded; inspired by ad selected by Jen Reed
I submitted this layout to the DSO January Ad Challenge.

Sue

D is for Dirty

Even though David and John were not perfectly groomed, these are some of my favorite photos of them when they were little.

Inspiration Lane September 2010 Weekly Download Kit by IL Team Members (some elements modified); Template 3 by Free Digital Templates by Lori (modified); Font: Pea Yummy Breakfast
I submitted this layout to the DSO January ABC Challenge and the IL January Font Challenge.

Sue

The Big Snow

This past December was the snowiest on record in this area. One of the December snowstorms was especially memorable, and I shared a few photos from it on an earlier post. I decided to make a layout of that day.

On the day we shoveled out from the storm, there were wind chills of -20 to -30 degrees below zero, and Harry's tears actually froze. Isn't that amazing?

Winter Chill Mini Kit by Jeni Cantrill Designs;
Template 1-1-2011 by Bunny Cates Designs;
Font: Segoe Script Bold

I submitted this layout to the DSO template challenge
and the IL Mini Madness Challenge.

Sue

Coffee Break

Harry's mom loved coffee. I can still picture Yaya like this, chatting over a cup of coffee. This was taken a few years before her death in April, 1998, at the age of 80.

Grandma’s Quilt by Jen Reed (ribbon extracted from tag);
Font: Segoe Script; CU circular mat template by LauraSkathi

The kit I used for this layout is Jen Reed's contribution to the big January blog train, "Grandma's Quilt". Snag Jen's part from her blog here, then check out some other designers' work. You can find the whole list here at the the Blog Train Blog.


Sue

Memories of Mom

My parents are wonderful! I don't think I can ever tell them too many times how much I appreciate them.

This past year my sisters and I tried to express our feelings for our parents in a tangible form by making them memory books, collections of stories and pictures that especially reminded us of each of them. All the kids, spouses and grandkids were invited to add their parts as we honored Mom and Dad. We gave Dad his book in April, and Mom her book in November.

As we each took a turn reading our portion of Mom's memory book to her, I took the photos below. I love the different expressions on her face.

Dream Anew by Jen Reed;
Font: Segoe Script; Scraplifted from “Life” by slprunning
Chosen as a DSO gallery stand-out by Lulutoo

Sue


P.S. Here are previews from the kit I used, "Dream Anew" by Jen Reed. Click on the previews below to visit her store at ScrapDish.