Empathy

I love customizing existing paper to make it my own creation, ink, stamps, paint, sandpaper are some of my favorites

I Love Your Guts

Ooooo, I like the way this one turned out. Paint is one of my favorite things to put on a layout, just for that extra touch!

Journaling:

How could I do without this guy? My life would be dull and boring without having his guts to love!

Hale' Ewa '07

Brady, the first 7 years - Tag Book

I had all these cute pictures of Brady that I needed to put all together.  A tag book seemed like the right solution.  I put "boy" quotes on each page as seemed appropriate. Oh man, I can't stand how cute this boy is!

Quotes:

Between the innocence of babyhood and the dignity of manhood, we find a delightful creature called a boy.

He is my boy. He is my joy.

A small son can charm himself into and out of most things.

Cherish each smile, each laugh, each tear.  You blink your eyes and one day becomes a year.

A boy's will is the wind's will, and thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

boy (boi') n. 1. a noise with dirt on it.

Determination

Journaling: (large photo - and photo below- are hinged)

GO CONFIDENTLY IN THE DIRECTION OF YOUR DREAMS

2004 was Afton's first time playing softball on a team.  I was very proud of both her and Kelsi for trying out and then going ahead with something that was hard.  Many of the girls on Afton's team had been playing for a number of years already so the coach thought it was a really good idea for Afton to attend a softball clinic that was being organized.  There were going to have professional ball players giving them pointers on pitching, sliding catching and other techniques that would help them improve their game.  Afton was looking forward to it, knowing that she needed the extra help.  Then we found out it was on Sunday.  I barely had to say a wore - Both Kelsi and Afton knew that they shouldn't go to the clinic, but to church instead. I know the coaches thought that this was something worth missing church for and they kept encouraging us to go.  It made my heart happy that Afton stuck to her guns and went to church that day.  During the next practices and as the season went on you could tell that the girls on the team had learned some valuable things a that clinic and I felt bad that my girls hadn't been there.  I almost wished that I had let them go.  I didn't want them to get frustarated and quit the team - I wanted this to be positive experience for them.

However i was impressed that Afton showed great determination in learning the game and doing EVERYTHING her coach told her to do.  She prided herself on thins she'd learned and would often tell me (and others) on rule of the game or another.  It was a big deal when she got her first base hit, scored her first run, stole home for the first time, caught her first fly ball, and tagged someone out, or the first time she was pitcher or catcher.  the other moms and I enjoyed watching the look of concentration on her face as she prepared for the next play.

Even though there was no formal awards ceremony, at the end of the season the coach, assistant coach and team mom all agreed that Afton should get the trophy for "most improved game."  She still may not have been the best on the team and definitely lacked many skills in the game of softball, but what she lacked in technique she make up for in DETERMINATION!

The Queen of Grunge

Yes, this is me, I answer to the Queen of Grunge.  Made with some of my favorite Mustard Moon paper and of course all the junque; stamping, cracked embossing powder, brads extra office supplies, extra sewing supplies, paint, game pieces, stitching, tags, sewing, chalk, , and I am partial to upside down letters and numbers... ok maybe I went a little overboard on this page.  But I love grunge, it makes me so happy!  I even used a blurry picture

Journaling: (Why I like grunge AND also describes what Scrapbooking means to me)

When it comes to my personal life, I guess I dislike grunge since it means dirt of filth.  And when it comes to music, grunge bands sing about apathy or dissatisfaction.  I abhor all of these things, but when it comes to scrapbooking, "Ahhhh!" It just makes me happy! Nothing is more satisfying than really grunging up a page, chalk, ink, metal, hardware, rips wrinkles, sandpaper, paint, a little bit of this, a tidbit of that; antique things, one of a kind things, something unique, something unexpected, heck, even trash. Sounds odd i know, but I feel so fulfilled when I finish a layout with one or more of these elements on it.  Sometimes I envy those who have a clean uncluttered style.  I always learn from them and occasionally try my hand at it.  But in the end I can't get away from that worn, aged found it on the street style.

More journaling: (in pocket behind above journaling)

I love finding out stories and tidbits about my grandparents and other ancestors.  It makes them human.  Even though I knew my grandparents well (I was married with kids before they passed away) it is still fun to find out that when they were young they used to sneak out of the house to meet friends, or they they thought that their parents didn't understand them.  How I would love to have pictures of the friends they met, or an actual journal entry about how they felt misunderstood. There is a connection to the past and a link to the future when one journals, scrapooks, takes part in genealogy or documents something noteworthy for future generations.  It is a strange phenomenon really... but I hope that within the pages of my scrapbook the scripture in Malachi Chapter 4 verse 6 will be, at least partially, fulfilled.  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers...