Project Life 2014 – Week Three | page two

Here is the second page of my three-page spread for Week Three:

digital kit: January Storyteller - Collection by Just Jaimee; digital template: Project Life Template A; get it FREE here

Top row – left spot:

font: Colagorate-Regular

On Monday evening Blake, Elisabeth, and I each separately realized Evie looks a lot like her brother did at this age. I found a photo of him, and we compared them.Yep. They look alike.

Top row – right spot:

font: Geared Slab; 6-photo collage template: Designs by Lili

Peter is a busy boy.

Middle row – first spot:

Text and embellishments on photo: Rhonna Designs

I took this photo and the one two over with my iPhone. I embellished them on my iPhone and saved them to my Camera Roll before I posted them on Instagram.

Middle row – second spot:

Middle row – third spot:

Text and embellishments on photo: Rhonna Designs

Middle row – fourth spot:

font: Geared Slab; “LOVE this” word art Digital Stamps from February Storyteller Collection by Just Jaimee

This is my ~favorite~ photo on this page, because my child is holding his child. When I was holding Blake when he was a baby, I never thought about him holding his baby one day. The circle of life goes on, and it warms my heart.

This photo is also my favorite on this page, because this is real life. The addition of a baby to a family is a gift from God. But life must go on. In this case, it meant Blake had to continue studying for the Florida Bar Exam he’ll take later this month. He only needs one hand to type and scroll anyway.

A good thing (I hope) about me going to stay with Blake and Elisabeth right after Evie’s birth is that I could join them in playing Pass the Baby. Many hands make light work [Southern expression adopted from the 1300s in England], unless you’re talking about broth making, in which too many cooks spoil the broth. I just mixed metaphors. Don't tell my former high school English students.

Bottom row – left spot:

font: Arial; “the LITTLE moments” word art: Penny Springmann; 2-photo collage template: Tracy Larsen

This week, like last week, I spent a good amount of time staring at Evie. I put her on my lap and my feet on Peter's Brio train track (sorry, Peter), and I just stared. Is it normal to sit and stare at one’s grandkids? I hope they don’t think I’m weird, but I am observing miracles. Amazing! Do you think they’ll think I’m weird?

Bottom row – right spot:

fonts: Geared Slab, Arial

My kids' Instagram streams provide lots of good material for my Project Life pages. The sign Conrad photographed on a pole in his neighborhood . . . hahaha!

Next post: Details about and close-ups from page three of Week Three. Thanks for stopping by! Happy weekend, everyone!

Project Life 2014 – An Insert!

Week Two of my 2014 Project Life album was about Peter and me being in Jacksonville, Florida, to meet Evie, our newest grandchild. Week Three was about my second week in Jacksonville and about me returning home.

Moving right along, I was ready to work on Week Four. (Yeah, I know in real life it’s probably Week 13 or 14.) While sorting photos, I found a bunch of photos of Graham that should have gone in Week Two or Three. No way was I redoing either of those weeks. Inserts to the rescue!

Here are the 6x12 inserts I made with stuff related to Graham:

Here is a closer look at the front of the insert:

font on the top: Attic; digital template for the front: Project Life Template A (cut in half vertically)

Front, top spot:

8-photo collage template: Designs by Lili; embellishments on photos: Rhonna Designs

Suffice it to say Graham did not starve while Peter and I were in Jacksonville. She stayed home with the dog and cats. Various friends stayed with her. They all love to cook and eat.

Front, second row:

square cards: February Collection by Traci Reed; embellishments on first and third cards: Rhonna Designs

Front, third row:

embellishment on top of photos: Rhonna Designs

I use Rhonna’s embellishments a lot when I take photos on my phone for Instagram. I like her embellishments so much that I bought many of the sets on her website. Now I can add them to my Project Life photos, too.

Front, fourth row:

font: Arial; word art: Ali Edwards; 4x6 card: February Collection by Traci Reed

Have I mentioned Graham is allergic to cats, particularly Mister Bucky? It's a good thing she's not allergic to Ellie Mae, because Ellie Mae is usually found glued to Graham's side.

Back of insert:

background paper: April Collection by Traci Reed

Graham is in charge of social media for the University of Memphis RUF group. RUF stands for Reformed University Fellowship; it’s our denomination’s college campus ministry.

A few weeks before this article appeared in the Memphis daily newspaper, Graham was interviewed over the phone for about an hour. The actual article was long. It was on two different pages.

In the olden days, pre-Project Life, I would have saved both of the pages. I kept a “memory” folder for each of our five kids for each year they lived at home. I have kept one for Peter and me for each year, too. I have a lot of memory folders.

Now I’m putting things like this article in my Project Life albums. Whereas I kept whole newspaper clippings in the memory folders, I don’t always need the whole thing.

For this article I went to our newspaper’s website, found the article, and used the Snipping Tool found in Microsoft Windows to “clip” out the parts I wanted to save, including the newspaper banner, the article title, and the photo used with the article. Here is a closer look at those parts:

I also clipped the part of the article that mentioned Graham. Here it is:

I put these items together on a 6x12 blank document I made with Photoshop. I also added a background (a paper by Traci Reed) in accordance with my scrapbooking motto: leave no space blank. 

When I'm ready to have this insert printed, I'll put both 6x12s on one 12x12 page and upload it to Persnickety Prints. Then I'll sprint out to my mailbox to await delivery of the page, because Persnickety Prints is that fast.

I'll cut the page in half, and put the two halves back to back in a 6x12 Project Life page protector. As I said earlier, this insert will go between Weeks Two and Three. 

I love having my pages printed individually instead of in a bound book, because I can go back and add inserts at any time. I can also redo pages when I find I've made an error. Yep, my OCD will insist I pay to have the whole page reprinted.

Next post: Details about Week Three. Thanks for stopping by!

Project Life 2014 – Week Two | page five!

The END of Week Two! Can it be??

So, here is page five (finally!) of my five-page spread for Week Two:

digital kit: Pocket Life: February Collection by Traci Reed; digital template: Project Life Template A; get it FREE here

Top row – left spot:

3-photo collage template: Tracy Larsen

Since Evelyn was only seven days old on Sunday, we didn’t go to church. Instead, we stayed at home and enjoyed some of that gorgeous Florida weather we don’t see in Tennessee in January. Peter got in a few rounds of golf in the front yard. He’s no longer allowed to play golf indoors, because his swing has become rather powerful.

Top row – right spot:

font: Bombshell Pro, FreightNeo Pro

All the photos on this page that look really good, like this one, were taken by Elisabeth’s sister Sarah, who is a professional photographer. She is so talented! It’s such a treat for me to watch her pose a baby and incorporate props from her incredible stash of stuff.

Middle row – first spot:

font: Bariol

Quess who took these photos – Sarah or me? Yes, me. How does Sarah do it?? I need to work on brightness or something. Learning to use my big camera would probably be helpful, too.

The above photos show the cute outfit Graham sent with me for Evie. It has little sheep all over it, and a big ruffle around the rear. It reminds me of a dancing bear in a tutu. Probably not the effect Graham was going for, but it’s so cute!!

It cracks me up to hear Peter call Graham “GumGum.” We don’t know if it’s his version of Graham, or if it’s a comment on the gum that’s often in her mouth. I meant to be Grandmother, but he calls me Ga-Ga. I’m seeing him as a teenager introducing us to his friends: “I’d like you to meet Ga-Ga and GumGum.” It makes our family sound rather intellectual, don’t you think?

Middle row – second spot:

font: Bariol

I have a thing for Spanish moss. Just lovely!

Middle row – third spot:

Ruffles on the rump again. =)

Middle row – fourth spot:

(The days of the week and the day numbers are all part of the February Collection.)

Bottom row – left spot:

font: Bariol; 3-photo collage template: Designs by Lili

Bottom row – right spot:

font: Bariol; embellishments on photo: freebie from Krista Lund

Wow. I really, actually finished Week Two. What do I do with my life now? I guess I should do Week Three. It’s hard to imagine life without Week Two.

See you soon! Thanks for visiting!

Project Life 2014 – Week Two | page two

Here is page two of my five-page spread for Week Two:

digital kit: Pocket Life: February Collection by Traci Reed; digital template: Project Life Template A; get it FREE here

Top row – left spot:

font: Bariol; 2-photo collage template: Tracy Larsen

Note to Peter’s future wife: It’s going to be crowded in your bed.

Top row – right spot:

font: Bariol

Elisabeth had the brilliant idea for Peter to open his Christmas presents from us while we were with him in Jacksonville. We got to watch his excitement, and he got to stretch out Christmas.

Dash the Horse is way bigger than he looks. The Stuffie toys are super soft and fluffy. Also, they have seven “secret” pockets for hiding stuff. We chose the horse because Peter loves “neighs.” Elisabeth said after we left, she found an apple in Neigh’s mouth (one of the seven pockets). Peter knows just what to feed a horse.

Middle row – first spot:

1^st Peter took his laptop with him so he could do work. He set up his office at Blake and Elisabeth's kitchen table. Blake even provided him with an office chair. What does 2^nd Peter know about work? He viewed 1^st Peter sitting at the table as an opportunity to get a book and crawl on his lap so 1^st Peter could read to him.

Peter loves books! (That statement applies to 1^st and 2^nd Peter.) Having two people in the family with the same name is very confusing.

Middle row – second spot:

font: Bariol

I went with Elisabeth and Blake for Evie’s first check-up with her pediatrician. Peter stayed home with Peter while he took a nap. (I'll let you figure out the 1^st and 2^nd on that last sentence.)

Middle row – third spot:

(The days of the week and the day numbers are all part of the February Collection.)

It seems to me Peter has an amazing attention span for a two year old. He sits and intently watches movies, like ones about people in the Bible, that last for 90 minutes. He sat one night and listened to Elisabeth read him a whole book with few drawings. The drawings were of neighs, so perhaps he was studying them.

It makes me feel stupid for sending him books with a word and a picture on each page (like a picture of a duck and the word “duck”). He might be ready for War and Peace. And why not? All my grandchildren are brilliant!

Middle row – fourth spot:

font: Bariol

Yep, he really has a lifetime membership.

Bottom row – left spot:

3-photo collage template: Designs by Lili

Two observations about Peter’s eating habits: He eats an amazing amount of food. Where does he put it?? He eats an amazing variety of food. The kid even likes veggies!

Bottom row – right spot:

font: Anderson Fireball XL5; 3-photo collage template: Tracy Larsen

Next post: Details about and close-ups from page three of Week Two. Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a happy week!

Project Life 2014 – Week Two | page one

Here is page one of my five-page spread for Week Two:

digital kit: Pocket Life: February Collection by Traci Reed; digital template: Project Life Template A

Top row – left spot:

font: Arial; “week” stamp:  Ali Edwards; “two” stamp: Ali Edwards; date stamps: Gina Cabrera

Interestingly, all of us in the family live near water. For Blake and Elisabeth it’s the Atlantic Ocean and the St. Johns River. The river is so pretty, but why doesn’t the name have an apostrophe (John’s)? You won’t be surprised to know its absence annoys the stew out of me [Southern expression].

Top row – right spot:

font: Bariol; 4-photo collage template: Designs by Lili

These photos show Blake, Elisabeth, and Evelyn leaving the hospital and the room where they stayed. We chose to fly down on the 6th to be there when Elisabeth was going to be induced on the 7th (her due date), so we could be there for the birth. Evie had other plans for her arrival and came out on the 5th. Although we missed being there for the birth (as did Elisabeth's parents because everything happened so fast), we arrived on the same day Elisabeth and Evie were released from the hospital. That worked well!

Middle row – first spot:

(The days of the week and the day numbers are all part of the February Collection.)

Middle row – second spot:

embellishments on photo: Rhonna Designs

I took this photo with my iPhone and edited it with apps on my iPhone. First I used PicTapGo to brighten, sharpen, etc. the photo. Then I saved it to my camera roll and opened it in RhonnaDesigns, where I added the word art and the sentence on the bottom.

Middle row – third spot:

2-photo collage template: Designs by Lili

I have a couple hundred photos just like this. It was sort of like watching a puppy, and waiting for its eyes to open. I also have many hundreds of photos of Peter like this from the first few months of his life.

It was one of the greatest joys of my life to sit and hold Peter by the hour when he was a baby, watching him sleep and talking to him while he was awake. I didn’t even mind sopping up his drool. (I could have done without the poopie diapers, though.)

The point of this Walk down Memory Lane? Who knew sitting and being a grandmother would be so rewarding? I’ve never been a baby person. In fact, the only babies I’ve ever liked were my own. That number is growing with the addition of my grandchildren. {happy face}

Middle row – fourth spot:

Font for “all”: DreamerOne

Bottom row – left spot:

font: Bariol; 6-photo collage template: Tracy Larsen

These are photos from our travels to Jacksonville. That Amy Tangerine bag is the ONLY thing I took on the plane. I always fly with a giant purse and a giant carry-on, because of my belief that you can’t take too much stuff when you travel.

In the olden days I regularly checked two bags. That was before the airlines started ripping us off by charging for each bag. (I do get one free checked bag on Delta flights, as well as a non-invasive, quick check-in at security because I’m a Preferred Flyer. Works for me.)

This time I decided everything had to fit into one piece of luggage and one bag/purse. I did it! So much easier to get around the airport and on the plane while carrying one thing.

Our first flight left Memphis late. We arrived in Charlotte with just enough time to sprint to the gate for the next leg of our flight. But, alas, sprinting is impossible when the plane just sits on the tarmac. For one hour. For no reason. When we finally got off the plane, we sprinted anyway, in case our second plane was late. It wasn’t.

This winter has been full of terrible winter storms leaving people stranded all over the country, sometimes for days. I felt their pain as we stood in several lines, repeated ourselves a lot, and were put on hold on the phone repeatedly.

In the olden days air travelers with a problem talked to a real ticket agent standing there in person. Now you talk on a phone to a person most likely in a foreign country. They specialize in using the Hold button.

We were told there were no more flights to Jacksonville with seats available that night, that we could get on the last flight, that we couldn’t get on any flight, and that I could get on a flight but Peter couldn’t. ??

Whereas this run-around would be totally frustrating for most people, it was frustrating for us, too, but it was also an opportunity to eat! (Among other things) I had the best chicken sandwich I’ve ever had!

Bottom row – right spot:

font: Bariol; 3-photo collage template: Tracy Larsen

Finally we did get to JAX. Blake and Peter were waiting inside the airport for us. Our luggage even made it there, too. While Blake went to get the car (and find the airport – long story), Peter was fascinated with my big purple luggage. I was fascinated watching him. I miss him so much.

One more thing. We met Peter at the airport with two stuffed animals. We held them both out, and he chose the “roar” (the lion). While we were waiting on Blake, I tried to give him the “eek-eek” (the monkey), but he vehemently refused it. Very strange. Blake later explained when he’s given a choice, he’s only allowed to choose one thing. Peter seemed happy when I told him he could have the roar and the eek-eek.

When we got to their house (after a stop for milkshakes to go), there was Elisabeth at the front door with the latest edition to our family. Be still, my heart!

Next post: Details about and close-ups from page two of Week Two. See you later.

Project Life 2014 – Week One | left side

Here is the left side of my two-page spread for Week One:

digital kit: Pocket Life: January Collection by Traci Reed; digital template: Project Life Template A

Top row – left spot:

font: Arial; “week” and “one” stamps: Ali Edwards; date stamps: Gina Cabrera at Digital Design Essentials

As I said in an earlier post, I’m starting each week with a horizontal photo showing the great outdoors. I’m thinking about taking a number of photos from our front door, especially ones that show the changing seasons.

And I like sky photos, especially of clouds. I like clouds a lot. Just like Charlie Brown, my hero in cloud observing, I can find those duckies and horsies!

Hmmm, if I were to inventory my photos, I imagine I have more of our animals than of anything else. Maybe I could use animal photos for my week cards next year in 2015. Then clouds for 2016? Oh, yeah! I’m getting ahead in my Project Life for once. At least when it comes to thinking.

Top row – right spot:

fonts: Arial (captions), KG Next to Me Solid (01 JAN); 4-photo collage template: Designs by Lili

I look at these photos above, and I think about the week cards where my mind is stuck. Maybe I should just assign them to Conrad. San Francisco is so pretty. If the truth be told, almost everywhere in the world is pretty. It’s all about paying attention to one’s surroundings. But I do especially like photos of Conrad's surroundings.

Middle row – first spot:

Middle row – second spot:

font: District Pro

This is my iconic photo of the soup kitchen where I volunteer – stacks of 16-ounce cups of soup, ready to be served.

If I could get up my nerve, I’d like to photograph some of our regular recipients, in the manner of Humans of New York. I think I’ve already said in my blog that when I first started working at the soup kitchen, I was afraid of those people. Many show up drunk or on drugs. Many look deranged.

But they each have a story. I talked to two guys the other day. One was laid off three years ago from a known business in the downtown area near the soup kitchen. He said when he saw people lining up at the soup kitchen, he never, ever dreamed he’d be in the line there one day himself.

Middle row – third spot:

roller date stamps: Traci Reed

Middle row – fourth spot:

Technique (for Photoshop/Elements lovers only): I wanted to put the monkey photo and the journaling on this one card. I could have divided the card in half and put the photo on the top and the journaling on the bottom. BUT to make it look more interesting, I did the following: 

• Made a new layer above the card. 
• Used the custom shape tool in Photoshop to draw a circle.  
• Filled the circle with black (because that was the foreground color I had open; any color works).
• Put the monkey photo on top of the black circle.
• Clipped the photo to the circle so that the circle served as a mask.
• Moved the photo around until I liked what was showing on the circle.

Using masks allows for non-constructive "cropping" of photos. If I had changed my mind about the placement of the monkeys on the circle, I could have easily moved the photo around.

Why I love monkeys, I do not know. I have a number of them around the house. Why Graham and Conrad chose these three monkeys for me, I do not want to know.

Bottom row – left spot:

font: Lucky Typewriter; 3-photo collage template: Tracy Larsen

Peter used to play golf indoors. He has developed quite a swing, so now he plays golf outdoors. He’s so cute!!!! And check out that hat and those gloves!

Bottom row – right spot:

fonts: Arial, Lucky Typewriter; roller date stamps: Traci Reed

(Oops. I just noticed I skipped a space in FedEx. I'll correct that after I post this. I love digital scrapping!)

When we drive up to the airport these days, I crack up laughing. Who builds a garage bigger than the entire structure the garage serves?

Walk down Memory Lane: Many in my family have had (or still have) an interest in all things aviation. My father flew on naval planes during World War II as a photographer. My mother’s dream when she was younger was to be a stewardess (or flight attendant in modern terminology), but it didn’t happen, because she married very soon after she graduated from high school. I have a cousin who’s a pilot. When Carter was a kid, he would sit on the beach in Destin and name every plane that flew over the beach from nearby Eglin Air Force Base.

When I was a kid, we would drive to the airport on Sunday afternoons and watch the jets take off. It didn’t take much to entertain us! Ha! Back then we could park right next to the runway. As the plane roared off, it nearly blew us away. It didn’t do our ears any good either.

I like to include news events – local, national, and international – in my Project Life albums. They are part of our lives, as much as the daily event in our families.

Next post: Details about and close-ups from the right side of Week One. Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate your support.