What was I thinkin?

Family Night

There was a stack of photos, from last summer, sitting on my desk. It was my intention to put them on a page many months ago; but, inspiration had yet to strike.

The photos were taken during a family bowling activity. We aren't talented bowlers; but, it is a fun group activity. The cost can start adding up to play multiple games during the regular hours; however, our bowling alley has a moonlight special. You rent their stylish shoes and pay a flat rate for unlimited games until closing time. We thought that sounded like great fun!

Bowling alley lighting isn't necessarily the most flattering, but the colorful balls are a lot of fun. I used a simple pattern to fit 5 photos on my first page, then I added a second page (with another 4 photos) using one of my favorites (the pinwheel pattern.)

Click image to see larger view.

Materials Used: Mosaic Moments™ 12 x12 Storm Grid Paper, Sunflower Paper Tiles™, and I found this great "100 Days of Summer" collection (by Simple Stories) at a recent convention. I love how the colorful stripes worked with the bright bowling balls. I used the coordinating alphabet to create the title/date.

I think it might be time to plan another bowling activity. :)

 

The Tooth Fairy

Aunt Sheila will always be remembered as the "tooth fairy" at our house. She has "a way" with a loose tooth. We will never know how many days that little thing might have been "hanging" in Alexis' mouth if Aunt Sheila had not come to the rescue.

Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.  At age 7, Alexis loved posing for the camera and had no trouble showing off her missing tooth.

I only needed a little journaling spot for this page; so, I used a 1x 4 square Paper Tile™ at the bottom of the page to preserve the names and the date. Materials Used: Mosaic Moments™ Petal Pink Grid Paper, Mosaic Moments PaperTiles™, Basic Gray™ patterned paper. Their Green at Heart Collection came with an adorable toothy beaver that I just had to include (with one slight alteration to it's right tooth.)

Have a Great Weekend!

Splash Mountain

The first time Kevin and I went to Disney World my oldest daughter was 7 years old. I was quite pregnant with our second daughter Alexis. It was in June and it was HOT! But, they don't allow expectant mothers on the "big rides" so, while Kevin and Paije went on splash mountain I waited for them with my video camera pointed at the "big drop."

The video camera was new and I was still trying to get used to working it. Worried that I'd run out of battery I took a break from watching "the mountain." Later when we watched the footage, we found an "interesting perspective" of my over-sized tummy, breathing in and out, with "splash mountain" noises in the background.

A little over a year later we happily returned to Disney World with our friends, the Zengers, and I was finally able to ride Splash Mountain. It is still one of my favorite rides - one that we enjoy (multiple times) on every trip to the Magic Kingdom.

Splash Mountain Page (shown above) was created on Mosaic Moments™ 12x12 Mango Grid Paper.

 

Happy Scrappin'

Looking Back

I have many snapshots in my photo files that have been neglected.

Recently I have been going back through those files and printing out some of the "neglected" memories. Most of the photos were taken during a difficult couple of years. (The months after learning that my mother was terminally ill, as well as the year after her death.) I didn't do a lot of scrapbooking during that time. My sister, on the other-hand, kept herself busy creating albums of my mother's memories. 

They say everyone has their own way. My mother had eight children. I can say, without any doubt, we all had our own way of dealing with her death and I am grateful that we did.

I am grateful my oldest sister put my mother's memories together in an album. It was a comforting process for her. I am grateful that my other sister took on the role of "nurse." That was her way of showing love for my mother. I was the "rock" for my mom -  there to tell her it was okay, and though we would miss her, we would all be okay. I wanted her to feel peaceful.

Holding emotions inside is a sort of interesting thing. I didn't cry at my mom's funeral. I didn't cry a few days later when we dropped my daughter off for her first year at college. I didn't know when it was okay to stop being "a rock."

That Christmas I opened a very thoughtful gift from my sister-in-law.

It says "Every life leaves something beautiful behind."

I read it and I cried. Two+ years later, something will make me think of my mom and I'll feel my eyes welling up; however, as time passes, it gets easier to let those "neglected" memories back into my life without tears attached.

Happy Scrappin' - again. :)

Taking the Bad with the Good

Last year I taught a class called Stamp this Way with Mosaic Moments™. It was fun for me to teach a class that didn't require any cutting and I got to talk about one of my favorite "embellishing techniques" - stamping.

This is the layout I made with the pages we created in class:

I've had these photos, taken on a trip to Philadelphia, for a few years now. I've been meaning to create a page with them; but, somehow they just kept getting skipped over. Maybe it's because I was disappointed with the photos.

I didn't get a lot of good shots (like I usually do at the zoo). The day was a struggle for me. I had recently been to the dentist for a routine cleaning. My mouth was really sore afterwards. I figured the new hygienist was a bit rough. I was taking pain medication - hoping it would get better. Instead I ended up spending the rest of the weekend laying in bed with a swollen mouth and severe pain.

That is what I think of when I look at these pictures.

On the bright side, Cole and Alexis behaved wonderfully for the next two days. They were stuck in a hotel room all day, instead of at the Sesame Place Theme Park. They could have made my misery even more unbearable; but, they played quietly, watched television, and they let me sleep when I could.

So... when I look at these photos, it reminds me how wonderful my children are.

Squirrels Beware!

Alexis has been asking, for some time, if she could learn archery. No problem, I'll just dig the old bow and arrows out of the closet... oh wait, I don't have a bow or arrows! Alexis, however, seems to have a knack for getting what she wants.  A very nice man agreed to give her a lesson.

I sent my camera with Kevin so he could capture the joy on her face as she pulled back the bow and let the arrows fly.

I created the "no frills" page above using Our Mosaic Moments™ Lotus Grid Paper along with some old Keeping Memories Alive™ paper I had filed away. (I thought the "hunter plaid" seemed appropriate.) I used one of my favorite basic page patterns - the chunky pinwheel. I added a bit of humor to the page with a Mosaic Moments™ Squirrel CornerStone and a little tag of journaling that says "Squirrels Beware." (Alexis would never intentionally harm a squirrel.)

Unpredictable

This has been an unusual winter - the weather seems unpredictable and colder than usual.

I have been a bit unpredictable lately myself. Changing my opinion about things I thought I was pretty sure of... 

1. I thought I hated the beach. However, under ideal circumstances, I really LOVE the beach. I don't like to go to the beach when I have to load the car, drive for hours, drag all my stuff out to the beach, set it all up, lug it (along with 10 pounds of sand) back to the car, and drive back home all gritty and wet. However, if I can arrange to stay "on the beach" - well, that is paradise!

2. I don't generally like baking; but, I recently discovered, I like making sugar cookies. I don't cook a lot and I rarely ever bake. However, give me a food I can decorate and I am a happy baker!

So, for my daughters wedding reception we decided to make wedding cake shaped sugar cookies - over 100 of them. It was a lot of fun - and the cookies were delicious!

Are you unpredictable? What have you discovered about yourself lately?

Feel Free to change your mind - and don't forget to scrap about it. :)

Happy Scrappin!

 

Aquarium

For as long as I can remember I've had a "bug" for the zoo. I remember taking a field trip in grade school - a tour of the city of Portland. The bus drove up by the zoo. We ate our lunch in a park just outside the zoo fence. We were so close; but, we couldn't go inside. I was painfully disappointed.

When I was in 5th grade my class took a field trip to the Seattle Aquarium. I wasn't sure if I was excited about that. I wondered why we weren't going to the zoo instead. Once we got inside I was hooked. I was fascinated by sea pens and urchins. It was hard to believe all that was living under the "dark water" of the Puget Sound.

Many years have past and I am still hooked on Zoos and Aquariums. When I heard that the Georgia Aquarium is the world's largest with over 8 million gallons of water - I had to go!

It is an amazing aquarium. The interior design is a treat for the eyes with constant changes created by colored lights. The exhibits are fabulous. I think my favorite was the giant Manta Ray exhibit, even though I am quite partial to those playful otters.

Shortly after we made our visit to the Georgia Aquarium I wandered though the Paper Wizard booth and spotted a fabulous "aquarium" title. Being familiar with the lazering process, I am amazed by the level of detail in Paper Wizards titles. They are not inexpenive - but, I think they are worth every penny. 

As wonderful as I think they are, I rarely use large titles because of the space they require. (Probably a good thing for my pocketbook.) But, even though aquariums are a feast for the eyes, they are generally not a feast for the camera lense. The dark environment, crowds of people, and rows of reflective glass are not the best conditions for snapshots. So, with less than my usual over abundance of photos, it wasn't a difficut decision to make an exception and add a fabulous and large title to my aquarium page.

What do you have a bug for?

 Happy Scrappin!

 

 

Monticello - Page Process

Last June we went on a day trip to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. We knew it was going to be a hot day in Virginia; so, we left early to arrive when they opened, first thing in the morning.

Monticello is a gorgeous historical site. It sits on top of a mountain in Charlottesville, Virginia. The views are spectacular - especially the views overlooking the surrounding hills and valleys. In just a few hours, at Monticello, I snapped 320 photos.

The biggest challenge I have, with most of my pages, is choosing the photos. With so many options it can be difficult to narrow down enough to fit the choices on 1-2 pages. Once I decide the "story" I want my pages to tell, narrowing is a little easier.

My favorite part of Monticello is the gardens. I had to include a few of my favorite garden shots; so, I decided to create a mosaic style border down each side of the two page spread.

(Left page border detail shown above.)  Notice how the little terracotta pots draw your eye back into the image and then up to the bright pink holly hocks. (Where photos are placed can make a delightful difference to a page spread.)

I also wanted to be sure to include a large title that displayed our location (Monticello) - since touring Jefferson's home was the purpose of our day trip.

I am rarely a subject in my scrapbook pages. I love to take photos. I don't really like to have my photo taken. My friend Jaime insisted we get a shot together. Being such a rare option, I decided to include it on my page.

I wanted to retain as much of the photo as I could to show off the view behind us. This meant matting was a requirement (a 4 inch photo doesn't fit the grid and I didn't want to cut the photo into mosaic squares.) Matting the entire photo wasn't creating enough interest for me. So, I cut it down (to 4x4 inches) making the mat 4 and three eights x 4 and three eights. Then, I cut the left over strips into one inch mosaic squares to fill the space on each side. (See image above.)

When it came time to add journaling to my page, a little memory from our previous visit came to mind. I included that information along with some general information like the place and date of our visit. I used ink around the edge and used a flourish stamp to finish the journal block.

I hope you have enjoyed this little "tour" through my Monticello Page Process.

Happy Scrappin!

 

Girls Day in Washington DC

After working at the Chantilly, VA - Great American Scrapbook Convention, Jaime, Paije and I decided to take advantage of the close proximity to our Nations Capitol. We planned a "girls only" day in D.C.

Parking can be difficult to find around the mall so we drove into the city early the next morning. The summer crowds were all ready filing into the city; but, we found the perfect parking spot between the White House and the Washington Monument. It was a really hot day & nice to be close to the places we wanted to see.

 

One of our "tourist stops" was the National Holocaust Memorial Museum. Inside the building there are walls covered in brightly colored tiles designed by children. I took a few photos of the tiles including one with my daughter standing in front of the wall. The wall, covered in messages of peace and hope, became the inspiration behind my scrapbook pages.

I used a pinwheel page pattern to create the left page. I decided to use a combination of 1x1 inch cut photo tiles mixed with brightly colored cardstock. I added some punched shapes and a few "doodled words" written with black marker.

To give my pages an "earthy" feel I used our Mosaic Moments Birch Grid Paper.

Birch is our Feature Grid Paper for October. You are going to love it with your photos of pumpkin patches and corn stalks. It is fabulous with fall leaves and will be a wonderful compliment to autumn activities and fashions.

I love the versitility of Birch - and hope you will too.

Acrostic

One of the best things about teaching my own children is what I learn, or re-learn, in order to teach them and the bits of inspiration it gives me along the way.

This was our first week "back to school." I decided to take some time this year to encourage my daughter to further explore poetry. This week we are focusing on Acrostic poems. (a poem or other form of writing in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message.)

Alexis wrote a lovely little poem about Panda's in China the first day, and a poem about Random Imagination the second. I am looking forward to seeing what she will come up with tomorrow. In the mean time, I thought may be I should use the idea for inspiration. An Acrostic Scrapbook page?

Do you want to see the Page Pattern for this page design? Check our Page Pattern Blog.

Spring Bride

 

When I go to weddings I usually have my camera in hand. You might compare me to a musician who feels more comfortable while holding a guitar. I am more comfortable taking pictures than socializing.

I am not a professional photographer; but, I really love taking photos at weddings. I do my best to stay out of the hired professionals way. This means I end up with shots of the photographers arm or tripod that have suddenly been injected into my composition. (Note arm in the image on the left.)

I don't love that; but, they are working. Being a wedding photographer is a huge responsibility - their needs take priority over mine.

I love having the opportunity to capture the moments the professionals don't. Most professional wedding photographers have a series of "standard shots." They don't always have time to look around with a creative eye.

The flower girls and bridesmaids are a favorite focus for me. I also take a lot of still shots: the buildings, the cake, the food, the decorations, the landscape, etc. Weddings are a fabulous "play ground" for the amateur photographer!

Simple is a Good Thing

A few years ago I made a goal: "to not be involved in so many 'good things' that I don't have time for the really important things in my life."

The goal is a constant challenge for me. There are so many good things in this world. There are good things to do, good things to learn, good things to eat, good places to go... It is difficult to narrow the options and decide which are the most valuable. I frequently find the need to "take a few steps back" and define my priorities before making decisions on how I will spend my time.

Scrapbooking is no exception to my "good things" rule. There are so many embellishments, so many papers, so many options. Sometimes I need to take a moment to look at my photos and ponder the memories, before I decide how to proceed.

When I created the page shown above, "Cole's first visit to the dentist," I wanted him to remember the things the dental assistant used to help him feel comfortable. The photos aren't beautiful; however, they serve a purpose - to help tell the story.

The second, equally important, element on this page is the journaling. I chose to "doodle" the writing to add bit of whimsy and fun to the "clinical" photos.  Using a few bright colors of cardstock as my "journal spots" and forgoing any additional embellishments, the focus stays where it should - on the story.

I agree with Winnie the Pooh - It's the simple things that often mean the most.

Mosaic Moments™ - page design system

Many years ago I was caught up in the business of scrapbooking. Being self-employed can be an "all consuming" project and that is what it had become for me. As more and more companies joined the industry, there was a lot of pressure to be the "trend setter" and come out with more and more product & designs.

In the middle of 'all that' my business manger decided to take a new job and I became pregnant with my youngest child. My husband was employed as the controller of a pork company - which kept him very busy. He did what he could to help me; but, the bottom line... I had come to a turning point in my life and I had to make a choice. For me, and my family, the only option was to simplify.

I let go of the ideas that had once filled my head and I trimmed our product lines down to the one I was most dedicated to - Mosaic Moments.

You may wonder why I chose to dedicate my time & my business to "a sheet of grid paper." It's not the most obvious scrapbook product. It doesn't sit on the shelf and sell itself. So, what was I thinking?

I wanted to fill a need. There are a lot of beautiful patterned papers, stickers, and embellishing products for scrapbookers. It is wonderful and I am thrilled they are available; but, how could adding another "pattern" fill a need?

The need I saw was for a page design system. One that didn't require fancy templates or tools that would cost a lot of money or have limited use. I knew that Mosaic Moments was it - the wonderful SIMPLE system for creating great pages.

Kevin and I have been thrilled with the reception we have received from you (scrapbook consumers) as we have offered demonstrations and classes at conventions nationwide. Thank you for your support. It really means a lot to us.

OH MY WORD! ... Serenity

a state of being calm, peaceful, untroubled... that is serenity

There are certain places in this world where I can easily feel that sense of serenity. One is when I am surrounded by nature.

There is nothing quite like sitting at the edge of the ocean or in the middle of a field that seems to have no beginning or end. Growing up in the west, wide open spaces were never far away; however, I have found that no matter where I am, I can find a piece of nature.

Pages above created on Mosaic Moments Granite Grid Paper (click on image for larger view.)

I found a bit of that serenity when we stayed overnight at the Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park. I decided to get up early, thinking it would be nice to have a little quiet time to myself. As I walked from our cabin to the location shown in this double spread, I was struck with a bit of nerves because of all the "bear warning" signs along the trail. However, when I stood at the railing behind the lodge and looked out at the mountains and the beautiful field in front of me - the earth stood still for just a second. That was a moment. It was serenity.

Then I remembered I wasn't actually all alone - my camera had joined me on my walk. I took a series of 5 portrait (vertical) shots to capture the view. When we arrived home I made it a priority to create the pages. This is one of my all time favorites, because it so successfully takes me back to that place and that moment.

Breathe deep and find a little serenity for yourself this week.

the ART & SCIENCE of Mosaic Moments

While I was in Chattanooga, TN I had the opportunity to take my children to the Creative Discovery Museum. The museum had a nice combination of both science and art for Cole and Alexis to explore. It was wonderful.

Creating a page with the photos I took at the museum made me think about how Mosaic Moments is  a combination of "art & science" too...

Science is all about discovery - so is art. In science there are many formulas - in art there are many formulas. Mosaic Moments encompasses both the mathematical formulas found in science and the creative processes discovered through art.

So, for the sake of both "Art & Science" I want to share pages I create with the "formula" or "page pattern" behind the process.

Point of View | I have a lot of photos that I want to include on this page. None of the photos are outstanding; however, I do have one that I would like to use as a focal point. I want to remember the name and location, of the museum, as well as the date we attended.

Conclusion |  I need to create a well organized page pattern that allows for many photos and enough space for title blocks and journaling.

Design | A symmetrically balanced design that has enough room for 10 photos plus title and journaling is created through the use of a "photo border" (across the top of the page.) I don't want the symmetry to bore the viewer; so, I use the "rule of three" -  staged by three title/journal blocks in a triangular pattern, to keep the eye moving.

What are some questions that helped me decide what kind of a pattern to create?

1. How many photos do I want to include on my page?
2. The quality of photos: is there a really great photo that I want to highlight? or is my biggest concern fitting a lot on the page?
3. What kind of photos: Do I have photos that make a great mosaic style "background" or that I can use as "filler" photos?
4. How much space do I want to leave for a page title and journaling?

I hope this post will be helpful as you create & formulate your own pages. And, whether you are a person who leans to "left or right brain" I hope you enjoy both the 'ART & SCIENCE' of Mosaic Moments as much as I do.

Howl-O-Scream

I love to take pictures at the pumpkin patch. Orange pumpkins are almost like characters at Disney World - you just can't take a bad picture of them! : )

Last year I didn't have time to go to the pumpkin patch so I made an alternative plan - a play date at Busch Gardens with a friend and her daughter was the next best option to the place where pumpkins are grown.

I used  my Mosaic Moments Cocoa Grid Paper to create the pages above. I like how the rich dark color makes the bright orange pumpkins "pop."

I used an old trick on the photo in the upper right corner. I used my exacto knife to cut around the skeleton figure because it was a bit  "lost" in the photo.   Check out the "before and after" photos.

You can see the skeleton with his hat better without the washed out sky and distracting tree branches.

I don't use this technique often, but occasionally it seems to be a handy trick for a visual treat. ; )

Something I like to add to my pages frequently is a bit of ink and stamping.

I don't usually have a lot of space on my pages for "embellishments" so stamping is a perfect subtle addition to dress up my journaling blocks. When I am not using my own handwriting, I create my journaling by making a text block in my computer. I often choose a type (font) color that coordinates with colors used on my page. I print it on cardstock and then cut it to fit the grid using my mat, knife, and ruler.

Once the block is cut out, I add additional color by inking the edges. When I can, I like to add a stamped element, as shown above. I really like the fall/winter border stamp I used because it includes a lot of variety and can be used in many ways.

You can purchase this stamp at SNAPNCROP.com.

 

Father and Son

Watering the flower garden is an early evening ritual at our house. As I snapped these photos the creation of this page was all ready set in my mind.

I considered adding a journaling block but I didn't want anything to distract from the imagery. I think the photos here tell this father and son story better than words could. I did want to preserve the names and date so I used the spare space on a PaperTile to add handwritten names and date and a decorative CornerStone to boldly mark the year.

When I can I like to place a photo behind a CornerStone - I thought it worked well for this page.

I used cocoa grid paper because it has an "earthy garden" quality. Golden yellow PaperTiles were a nice compliment to the flowers in the photos.

Summer always seems to be over too fast. I hope you have a moment to stop and enjoy the flowers this week.

Tami

Using Patterned Paper

Though I don't use a lot of patterned paper on my scrapbook pages. When the opportunity presents itself, I love to use it. : )

There are some occasions, as rare as they may be, when I don't have a ton of great photos that I am trying to fit on a page. For the page above I only had two photos of Cole's quick tour in the airplanes cockpit. In addition to the event, I added a couple photos of clouds from my "stock" photos.

To increase the "dramatic effect" of the clouds I increased the contrast in the photos to create a deep blue sky. I cut the cloud images into "mosaic pieces" to give the illusion that they came from one photograph.

I used one of my favorite paper brands - Basic Grey (baby boy collection) - as a finishing touch to the page. I love using paper as an embellishment. I have more control with the patterned paper when I cut it up. I want to decide which parts to use and which parts can be seen - without it controlling my design, etc.

Disney Pages & PaperTiles

If your family is like the Potter Family you have a lot of Disney photos. For highly photographed activities and events, I  like to get fairly theme specific when I create pages. For theme parks I design pages based on a specific park (ie Animal Kingdom) or, sometimes, I get more specific and design a page based on a favorite ride or attraction.

The page below was based on Disney MGM Studios. It was Cole's first Disney Experience and it was our family's first time going to the new stunt show and eating at the Prime Time Cafe; so, those were the photos I decided to focus on.

In addition to photos, I added a couple of Disney stickers by Sandylion and I used a "Mickey's Head" rubber stamp (very subtle with aqua ink on light aqua paper) to decorate the small PaperTiles) in addition to my own "Clearly Numbers" stamps (used for the 1st and the 2005.)

click on image for larger view

Paper Tiles are a big time saver when I am creating a page like this one. I can quickly mat photos that are not sized to fit the grid and add small pieces to fill in the gaps. This page was created using Mosaic Moments 12x12 Petal Pink Grid Paper and Lt Aqua Paper Tiles.

Creative Time

I had a little personal creative time today so, here are the photos I decided to work with:

I love working with bright colors and I really wanted to use the 4 photos shown at the bottom. They were photos of the paintings displayed along the main hall in the Eric Carle museum. It seemed like a fitting "embellishment" for my page. : )

I often photograph signs. I like to use them as informational "page titles" as shown in the page above. (Top right corner.)

When I finished this page, I showed it to Kevin, who is busy scraping the old paint off our house. He said, "It sure is bright!" Well, I thought, so is Eric Carle's work. I must have captured the mood!

Hope you are having a wonderful and relaxing holiday too!