ON BEING PRODUCTIVE

I've been home since late December. I got sick and have been having a hard time shaking this upper respiratory infection and having some asthma trouble as well. I haven't consistently needed a rescue inhaler in about 9 years. I have been SO under control that the asthma just hasn't been an issue and I forget that I even have it (since 10 years old). I've been limiting my time outdoors; I'll run one errand and then come home. And, I cover my face so I don't breathe the cold air.


So, what does one do when you don't go to work and have to stay home? Create!! And, I have a lot to work with. Just before I got sick we went to Florida for my jr. college sorority reunion and then went on a cruise. Plus there were other events during 2011 that I've been wanting to scrap. It feels good being productive but I do miss going to work too. I wish there were a happy balance. I know I'll get better but it's still going to take a few weeks.

The family all got together for Thanksgiving...a rare treat.

And, of course, there was a bit of just plain fun & silliness.

This layout is about my group of friends that call ourselves Red Hots. Whenever we get together we (almost) always manage to get a foot picture. Not sure how this tradition got started but we always have fun with it.

And, of course, I can't forget Adam Luther. He had a great time this Halloween, dressing up as a magician. One of his best friends "trick-or-treated" with him as a dragon.

These next layouts are about the cruise. This was Frank's first cruise. Not sure he'll do it again but it was a trip we'll never forget.

Thanks for peeking in my life for just a little moment. I hope to be back with more.

Been Busy!

I'm still working on my NYC Vacation album. I have to stop and do other topics at times but I'm still plugging along.

Frank didn't want me to buy this posed photo but I liked it so...I did anyway!

Little Italy was full of great bargains and great food!

This is a double layout made with a sketch layout from SISiversary (that I didn't attend but received the kit anyway) There was originally a sun in the lower left corner...I turned it into the Lady's crown.

Green Street...SoHo...this is where my father's first handbag factory was and some of my earliest memories are from this factory. We don't know what the address was but it was somewhere on this street.

This was a great sculpture to find in NY - I was surprised it was there.

What a fabulous museum to go to...They showed an un-restored apt, and then 2 other apartments restored to the dates in which the depicted family lived. Fascinating history!

This is the church right next to Ground Zero where many people took cover

Some of my favorite childhood memories grew here...My dad and I went here a lot.

9/11 Memorial wall - across the street from Ground Zero

10 House - The First Responders and their own memorial

Thanks for stopping by & looking at my work.
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You Can Take the Girl Out of New York but You Can Never Take the New York Out of the Girl!

Here's some more layouts that I did of our trip to New York...man, I miss that place!!

While Frank and I were on the observation deck of the Empire State Building, along came this pigeon and sat on the edge. He sat there for the longest time, walked back and forth as if he were watching the people as much as the people were watching him!! He let everyone get very close! Cute, little dirty pigeon!

This layout is just full of random things that we saw around the city! It's a little busy, but then, so is New York!

We saw these 2 shows while in the city. The 39 Steps and Alter Boyz. Both were excellent and I'd recommend them to everyone!

One of the most surprising things in the City was the Manhattan subway stations! They were FILLED with beautiful mosaics! Here's a layout highlighting the ones that I took pics of.

There's still more to come...especially pics from when we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge!


Thanks for looking!

New York, I Miss You!!!

Well, I've been back for over a week and haven't blogged about my trip yet! I am now going to try to make up for my lapse. I took so many pics that I nearly filled my 8 gig memory card! Way too many pics for me to upload here. But, I will upload the layouts I've done and will be doing.


Instead of doing a daily journal or scrapping my trip day by day, I've decided to scrap it by theme (where possible), as you'll see.

This layout highlights quite a bit of the beautiful iron work that we saw all round the City. Great designs & craftsmanship!

Back in 1974 (after we moved away) my parents and I went back to NY to visit and went down to South Street Seaport & John Street along with my grandfather. We found these great colorful chairs and phone booths. Years later my own family went back and I looked for these but never found them; thought they were gone for good! Then, as Frank and I wandered down to South Street Seaport, we stumbled upon them...in a different location but still in existence!! I was thrilled!

This is only a tiny glimpse of Rockefeller Center and the iconic figure, but I already have pics of the Center from a past trip. I wanted something different. All during this trip I was focusing on design and tiny details of the City. This pic shows the Center through one of the bronze sculptures surrounding the area. I wanted this layout to be simple and focus on just this point!

What's New York without some of the best food!! Before we left on our trip, I made a mental list of things I wanted to eat while there. I think I did it all! The best was the kinish from the Carnegie Deli and my, nearly, nightly Black & White cookies---Can't beat 'em!!

This is, by no means, the end of my posting about NY. Stay tuned for more!


On a sadder note, I've had to cancel this year's edition of Cabbage Kids Adventure Camp due to lack of registrants. I guess the economy blue have taken over camp! I will probably try again next year, but Adam Luther is still pouting.

Thanks for stopping by!

GOING GREEN & ANOTHER COUNTDOWN

Bye Bye Avalon. Last Friday (May 3 - KY Oaks Day), Frank brought home his new car. It's a Prius! While I do miss some of the luxury features of the old Avalon, it was just that...OLD! Frank's been itching for a new car for almost a year now and just couldn't decide on what to get. He finally made his decision! Congrats!! And BOY, does it get great mileage!!!

We're NYC bound...the BIG APPLE!! We're in countdown mode... 4 days till take off!

DID YOU KNOW:

New York City has 722 miles of subway track.

The "New York Post" established in 1803 by Alexander Hamilton is the oldest running newspaper in the United States.

The first American chess tournament was held in New York in 1843.

The first capital of the United States was New York City. In 1789 George Washington took his oath as president on the balcony at Federal Hall.

Gennaro Lombardi opened the first United States pizzeria in 1895 in New York City.

he first Boy's Club was established in New York City in 1876.

The Big Apple is a term coined by musicians meaning to play the big time. (but there are other stories too.)

Joseph C. Gayetty of New York City invented toilet paper in 1857.

New York was the first state to require license plates on cars.

The first public brewery in America was established by Peter Minuit at the Market (Marckvelt) field in lower Manhattan.

These neat tidbits were from http://www.50states.com/facts/newyork.htm

As always, Thanks for stopping by!
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SCRAPPY TIMES!!!

For the last 2 weeks, my husband was out of town Monday through Thursday. So, what's a scrapper to do? I scrapped till I dropped! It was great, although I did miss him. Glad when he came home. But I had my own crop-a-thon!

At SIStv we play this "free shopping" scrapping game on the weekends and this weekend I got to play along. The first person lists 10 scrapping items. The next person chooses, or "buys" 3 of those items to use on a layout and then replaces them with 3 other items. Well, the 3 items I bought for this layout was:
1)black as a background,
2) masking to create my own paper and
3) Thickers.
I also took this opportunity to practice my photo editing skills on this 1962 pic of my sister, brother and me. It was awful; full of, what looked like, rust stains. I was thrilled to restore it! The other photo is from my niece's wedding in May 2008.

This layout fulfilled requirements for 2 challenges. Scrapper's Block said to use no pattern paper while Scrapping Out Loud said to use a grid and the word "hope". I used the collage feature on Picasa to create the grid of pics and then cut them apart for the layout.

Sewing on layouts...what a great embellishment...it adds texture and detail! I used it here on this layout about our trip to Stone Mountain, GA back in 2007

Another layout about Stone Mountain, GA

When we were in Atlanta we wen tto the Coca Cola Museum. While there I bought these Coke papers not knowing I could get them nearly anywhere. They've been sitting in my box since 2007 and I just felt I had to use them. So, here's a double layout with lots of machine stitching.

This layout is a more somber one; brought me back down to earth. Scrap Mojo had a challenge based on the story of Peter Pan. We were to use anything in the story as inspiration for a layout. I chose this quote, "All children, except one, grow up". At first I started gathering all sorts of pics of my daughters when they were little. Then I stumbled upon these pictures of my nephew Adam and my children with my 2 nephews. This challenge then took a complete "U" turn - a completely different meaning. We lost Adam in 1988; he was torn from our lives. I used the color core card stock whick let me use sand paper to create Adam's name above his photo. The challenge also said to use a frame and I used this circle border from Magistical Memories.
Thanks for stopping by. I had a great time at my own personal scrap-a-thon!
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PAPER BAGS ARE NOT JUST FOR GROCERIES ANYMORE

Oh, how I wish I had taken pictures of this paper bag album before I filled it all up!! I really was flat and neat looking!


Back in January I took a class on paper bag albums that you can go back and look at if you want. That lesson inspired me to make this jumbo paper bag album out of large grocery bags. Inside I used various sizes of bags as well, like liquor and lunch sizes.

I also used lots of chipboard tags that I covered with papers and large sheets of chipboard that I put tabs on the edges (that you can see sticking out) . These large sheets are tucked into the open ended edges of the bags - hope that makes sense. Again...wish I took pics before I did the work!

As you can see, this book is WAY too full! I did not anticipate this problem when I made it.

I found great die-cuts at scrapyourtrip.com - including the country titles I used and this one for the "muster drill".

This is where I used the liquor bags and cut/folded them to make pockets. In each pocket are either 1 or 2 tags and even my post cards

These pockets are made from lunch bags and stand up instead of the previous ones that stick out. These have much larger tags. I think you can see them sticking out a little. The section does flip in the center.

I also found this neat life preserver border on scrapyourtrip.com

Here are some of the titles I got at that web site.

Last page - Yes, that's me with a drink...well, 2 drinks.

The End!

Thanks for looking!!
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