I just completed my first LOAD (Layout a day) with Lain Ehman.   I have found myself so inspired and creatively challenged lately.  I thought I'd give it a try.  What an experience.  31 new layouts in 31 days.  It was definitely a challenge, not only creatively, but also in making the time to create each day.  There were some days I knew I would not be able to scrap, so I had to make the extra time other days.  Some things I leaned are a prompt can be interpreted in many ways.  It's ok not to follow a prompt and do your own thing.  I had fun thinking outside of my box.  I'm proud of myself.

Here are a few of my favorites:
This is from our spring vacation.  The focus was on design

 This prompt was from the color week.  Use black and white only

 This was from the embellishment week.  Place them wisely, then remove one

 This was to start with design, then photo or story, then decorate

 Also from embellie week.  Pick a trend tat is popular today and use it in your own way

 Scrap something you are passionate about

 Journaling week.  Use just one word to describe your LO or subject

 Embelie week again.  Go back and re-do embellies on a previously finished LO.  I had never added embellies to his one, so I added the Menorah, gems in the middle and the word Hanukkah.  Simple, but now complete.

All of these and more can be found here Derv's CK Gallery

Mother's Day in Wonderland

I thought I'd share some pictures from my weekend in Ca.  Saturday, my sister and I took our Mom and Grandma, who we call Nani,  out to lunch.  We wanted to do something we don't ordinarily do, so we went to a hotel in Santa Monica. Well, we ate, drank and laughed for 4 hours!  I'd say mission accomplished.

I loved the decor in the hotel.  It was very Alice in Wonderland, modern art-deco.  It was colored in black and white, with a wonderful bright green as the accent.  It was beautiful.

Sunday my sister and I prepared brunch at Nani's house.  While at lunch on Saturday, were were talking about hats.  Not sure if it was the Alice vibe, the Royal Wedding, or the Kentucky Derby. So, we decided to continue the Alice theme.  Nani has saved all of the hats she wore in the past.  She got out the hat boxes, and we put them all on.  I'm the only one in the family who should never wear a hat.  Needless to say, the laughter continued.  It was a wonderful day, and a wonderful weekend.

Nani and I

Mom was actually wearing 2 hats. The leopard on top of the blue.  I called her Johnny all day.

My sister and I.  She wears hats well.

So I'll Begin...

A short history.  I found out I was moving.  I noticed in my CK mag, I was moving to a city with a CKConvention.  Woo Hoo!  I've never been able to go to one before.  I never in a million years thought I'd do what I did next.  I joined the Club CK Message Board, or as my husband says, "My crazy scrapbook blog".  I was curious if anyone near me was going.  Maybe I'd get some info about finding the best scrappy places to shop & crop.

Well, its 7 months, 2000 posts, many challenges, swaps, and 100 layouts later.  I consider myself an active participant on the MB.  I've been able to vent, listen, learn, laugh until I couldn't breathe and make some great "virtual friends". I have punched my own borders, painted, layered, made my own banners and stitched on my pages.  I even have met 2 peeps in person.  All things I'd never done before, and some I said I'd never do.  Well, here's the last one.  I am now finding myself with a blog!   I guess I'll figure this out as I go along.  But I ned to say, a sincere, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for the inspiration and encouragement.

Winter Fun

Everything is still so new to us.  Mid-Winter Break? So we headed to the snow for some "tubing".

This was my "A HA" moment realizing how easy it was to complete these using coordinating paper for a series of pages.

Sketch from Sketchy Thursdays

This is a "Top 3" at  Frosted Designs

Game Time

These are a few of the most recent pages that I've created.  Some are favorites, others, not so much.  

Dad & E at the Cubs game with Great Grandparents.  I used the words from "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" for the title in this series.  I did these pages for the "Sports LO Challenge".

This LO is my Ugly Paper Challenge LO

Banners and Baseballs

Using the Sew Easy with the baseball stitch

Reflecting on 9/11

I'm really reflecting today.  My Mom always told me she will never forget where she was when she heard the news about JFK. She also said she hoped I never had a moment like that in my life.  Unfortunately for me, and all of us, we have 9/11 in our lives. 
       So where were you, and/or what were you doing when you first heard any news about the events of 9/11?  How did you feel and react?  What were your first thoughts?  What did you do?
       I had just dropped ODS off at daycare, said hello to a good friends who mentioned that she was on her way to the airport for a biz trip to Dallas.  Listening to my morning radio show in the car, they casually interrupted that one of the towers was on fire.  Not sure if it was a bomb or otherwise.  By the time I got to work.  The 2nd tower had been hit.  Once at work, we were told we could leave if we wanted.  My biz trip to NY had been cancelled, or I would have been there.  My counterparts and boss were there and watched Tower 2 fall.  They were horrified, terrified and couldn't get home. We drove quickly to pick up ODS and went home.  We glued ourselves to the TV, sat there stunned and speechless for the rest of the day and night. 
       The strangest (can't find a better word) thing for me was that ODS was 16 months old.  He still had to eat, nap and play.  Life had to go on, and I felt GUILTY.  I felt WRONG to smile as he played.  He didn't know any better.  I said to DH, "We will have to explain this to him someday.  It will be in his History books at school".  I took him outside on the driveway to ride his scooter.  It was a GORGEOUS warm day.  Not a single could in the sky.  And no airplanes either.  It was eerily quiet.  We lived between 2 airports. There were always airplanes flying overhead. 
        I had the foresight to take a few pictures, knowing that someday I would scrap about that day.  I did.  I may add to the journaling now.  There is so much more to say.

I'm a Blogger

Yes, It's true.  I am now a blogger.  I'm still trying to figure out exactly how I'll use this.  I think for now, the Home page will be for sharing news and stories about us with my family and friends. It's an easy way to stay connected.  I know my family shares information with each other.  I'm really fortunate to have good friends.   I want to stay in touch with everyone.

The Creativity page is for my Scrapbook projects.  It's how I keep the memories of the news and stories that I share.

Inaugural Post

Welcome to My Creative View. This is the place to be, to see the real and the creative side of me.  Thank you for looking.