Dancing to the Music

So when was the last time you told your kids something about your childhood? I think our story also includes all those awkward moments when we were discovering who we are. I know that I have made reference to instances in my life on multiple occasions while raising my teenager. Why not find a way to document that so that our stories will live forever? I dare you!!!!!!

Here is a layout I did of my teen years and some of the dances I attended. I so loved the music of the 80's so I thought I would scrap about it. Enjoy.....

Journaling on the back reads......


Landon, Caleb, and Abigail,

Music and dancing was a huge part of my teen years. It all started with me singing and dancing in front of a mirror. Mawmaw gave me the nickname, Miss Priss, because I always had my hands on my hips and would shake my bootie to the beat. My first all time favorite song was “You light up my life” by Debbie Boone. I would sit in my room and belt out that song to the top of my lungs playing it over and over again on my record player. Boy, I thought I could SING!!!! Next was the MTV phenomenon. I can remember staying up late with your Uncle Patrick waiting for the premier of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. Oh, and then there was the Rick Dees top 40. I would take my cassette player and record my favorite tunes as Rick Dees would go through the count down. As I approached my teen years, music became an everyday past time. There were so many different genres that appealed to me. Music reflected the mood I was in and still does to this day. I have so many wonderful memories that involve me and the music I was listening too. Whitesnake, “Is this Love” or Def Leppard, “Pour Some Sugar on Me”, I would blast these songs as high as my little volume button would go while driving to a teen dance club in the next town. Made us feel like “Footloose” because the town we lived in had nothing like that for us to hang out at. Then there was my school dances. I loved getting dressed up and dancing to all the great songs. Prince, Madonna, Journey, U2, Duran Duran, Bruce Springsteen, oh my gosh…I could go on and on. Yes, I have great memories kids and probably a story to all of my favorite songs!!! I loved my teen years and I can’t wait to share many more stories with you.

Love you always,

Momma



P.S. the pictures on the front are of me at my junior prom (’89), my friend’s senior prom (’89), and my senior homecoming dance (’89).

Today we have a Guest!

Let's welcome our guest: Ro Philippsen. I  took several classes with her, including the scrap therapy group she tells about, I love her work and I hope you enjoy it too... Camila.

Hello, my name is Rosangela Philippsen.

I live in a beautiful city called Curitiba in the South of Brazil, with my hubby and my 13 years old son, Rafael. I´ve started scrapbooking 5 years ago and I Scrapbook every day. Initially it was just a hobby which made me feel very happy. And now I teach scrapbooking in my city and host scrapbook events around my country. I also teach a group of scrap therapy, called “Scrap&Me".

I am passionate about creating and inspiring different people and I love trying new and interesting materials in my designs. The project “Scrap&Me" is what I am most proud of in my scrapbook world. I could link art and creativity in scrapbook as a therapy.

It allowed me to go further than a class full of techniques and a creative layout with my students, I managed to propose challenges that made us to chat about small things through art. We reach these feelings through colors, specific technique, journaling, even words. Anything that can be therapeutic for a person. Nobody has to reveal anything , but we talk a lot during the class, so we create with fun! A creative therapy.  The important is that it was an authentic thing and natural.

Picture from our group.

Who went deep into this trip with me did not regret.

Three examples of topics we cover in our “Scrap&Me” classes:

-Theme: Colours of my life.

 In this Layout, ¨colour of my life¨, I propose you to thing about the people Who color your life. Who are the people that make all the difference in your life? Who are you most important value, your biggest precious? Think about what you have that is the most treasure. Choose a fact that represents something very important for you. We Will make a special layout for this Picture.

 -Theme: Music.

Choose one. Just pick one!  It´s not necessary to be the sound of your life, it can be the music that comes to your mind at this moment, or another that attracs your attetion, or even a song that sounds nice to your hear... choose one!!!

-Theme: A message to you.

Be you. Find you. Be happy with that.

You can see more of her work in HERE.

Treasured Relationships

Today I'm sharing a layout about DH and I. He is so much a part of me. Over half of my life has been spent with him. It's really important to share our feelings about those we love and document the things about our relationships that help make us who we are.

What is your most treasured relationship? Record some thoughts about it and document it on a page. :)

Have a fabulous day!

Pet Peeves: What Irritates Me

I am human.  I have emotions and feelings; likes and dislikes.  There are things that irritate me sometimes.  I often find myself praying that these things won't bother me.  1 day I will get past them.  They may be minor or funny to you put they aren't to me.  Anyway!  On my layout, I journaled that my pet peeves are:


People popping gum * When I get an email with all CAPS * People driving so slow holding up traffic * Unsupervised neighborhood kids * Litter * People that park so close to my car at the Metro that I can’t even get in the car * People that gossip * Seeing people who wear things they don’t have the shape for * People that talk on their cell phones on the train; I don’t want to hear their conversation * Constant complainers and criticizers; people always with a problem.

Do you have any pet peeves? Irritations? Dislikes?  Scrap about it!

Being a Mother...

17 years ago today, I gave birth to a healthy baby boy and we named him LUIGI. It was my first time to experience motherhood at the age of 24. I can still remember all that had happened during my pregnancy and to tell you the truth, it was the hardest thing I ever done in my entire life. At first, I was a bit sad because I always wanted to have a daughter for my first born. But as my little boy was growing up and as I learned more about being a mother, I realized that having a son makes no difference after all. Today, I wish to greet you son, a very Happy Birthday and may all your wishes come true.

Time Flies... This pages was based on the Creative Scrapper's Sketch 103. Motherhood is indeed a great experience... hope you can also scrap your stories soon... TFL!

Out of Character

Have you ever done something that others would think is totally unlike you? As a teacher new to the fifth grade last year, I knew I would be spending a week away with the students at Nature's Classroom, an outdoor education program. This is something the students look forward to for a long time! Being a girly girl, my colleagues joked about me roughing it out in nature, and my students were eager to see what I would look like in pants and sneakers instead of a dress! To my surprise, I ended up loving Outdoor Ed and was even willing to hold a duck after a fun duck race. :) This was very out of the ordinary for me, making it lots of fun to scrap!

Go ahead and scrap yourself doing something that may be a little out of character. Share a moment captured when perhaps you have done something nobody would expect! :)

Happy scrapping!

29 Already!!!

Scrapping numbers, turning 29 was a little scary, I know you are all laughing! I'm still young and yes I do know that, but growing up 30 seemed such a big number and always so far away! And now it's less than 365 days away well even closer now but this picture was taken closer to that date!!

I do believe that age is just a number, it's actually quite exciting to see the number rising I'm excited for the future, however sometimes I look back thinking where did the last 29 years just go??

Will you scrap a number today? will it be your number?

What Are Your Favorite Sweets?

On the weekend, I sometimes buy sweets to keep in my drawer at work for when I get the munchies.  I simply love chocolate and nuts.  So I buy M&M's with nuts, Mr.Goodbar, Baby Ruth, Snickers and Hershey's with almonds.  Yum! 

What are your favorite sweet indulgences at work? At home when the family is away?  At crops with the girls?  Scrap it!  Share it with us!

What Do You Collect?

Our collections say a lot about who we are. One of the things I collect is alphabet books. I've always been a logophile. Even as a child, I delighted in wordplay. I can remember discovering William Steig's book CDB in the library when I was a young girl, and I sat on the library floor deciphering each page. As a teacher, I try to pass my love of words onto my students through my teaching and by giving them little gifts of words that I make with pretty papers and interesting phrases that I laminate.

Here is a page I made documenting my alphabet book collection:

What do you collect? And what does your collection reveal about you?

If I Won The Lottery

 
I have a book called "The Book of Me" by Angie Pedersen.  Chapter 13 is called "Dreamer".  On page 62, it says "This role allows you to envision and plan for all the hopes and goals you have for your future.  This role also allows you to develop your creative, abstract imagination when you consider "what-if" kinds of situations."

Pedersen provides great prompts to trigger journaling:

• Make a list of 25 Things to Do in My Lifetime
• What trips have you dreamed of taking?
• Who have you dreamed of meeting?
• Do you have any physical goals?
• If you could travel back in time period, what time period would you choose?
• If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?

Well when I read the last question, it trigger some journaling and a layout.  I sometimes play the lottery just hoping and dreaming of a big pay day.

On my layout, I journaled......

If I won the lottery, I would:

• Put away money for my son to go to an ivy league college for undergrad and graduate degrees.
• Buy myself a *fat* house and vehicle in the USA and my favorite Caribbean island.
• Travel to every West Indies Island and Virgin Island.
• I would go on a cruise every year.
• I would donate some money to my church.
• I would pay off all of my bills and my mommy’s bills.
• I would get extensive work done on my teeth.
• I would get a total body liposuction.
• I would get me a live in nanny, maid, and housekeeper.
• I would get a hair dresser to come and do my hair whenever I wanted it done.
• I would get every Cricut cartridge Provo Craft has put out.
• I would open a Scrapbooking Retreat Inn/Hotel/House.

What dreams would you like to bring to fruition?  Now let's see the *Dreamer* in you.  Get to scrappin!

How's Life?

Everyone does have their share of trials and triumphs in life, but in spite of all these how would you describe your life in just one word? Mine is COLORFUL! My family and kids, scrapping and good friends, love and those little things makes it colorful and worth living for. I just have this prayer everyday... that the rainbow in my life will not vanish and leave me! Here's a simple page to share those colors of life...



Its great to be using those different colors of scraps and embies, try using them to create your own life's colors. Thanks for looking!

New Beginnings

Happy Saturday Everyone!

My scrapping topic for today is new beginnings. This past summer, I bought and moved into a new townhouse. I wanted to create a layout to remember this huge event, and to signify a new and exciting beginning in my life.

Think about a time in your life when you experienced an exciting change. It may be a change that you brought about yourself, or perhaps it was something you didn't expect. Take the time to scrap these important moments that send you in a new direction!

Happy scrapping!

Why Do We Scrap?

Happy Friday!!! It has been a long week for me, I am ready for the weekend!! I  am super excited about this weekend too!! Why you ask?? Well I am going to spend the WHOLE weekend at ScrapFest 2010 @ the Mall of America!! Woo Woo!! I normally go every year,but missed last year so I am READY!!

My question for all of you is 'Why do you scrap"? I know when I first started it was to create summer memories for my step-daughter. We started out with construction paper and glue sticks!! LOL I made my son play along and he HATED IT!! Finally I gave in to his discontent and let him just be!!

Sometime later I became a collector of scrap stuff!! Never really doing anything until it was a special occasions! Fast forward to today I  really appreciate scrapping as a ART Form!! Expression Art I like to call it!! Our love for taking pictures and playing with paper!!:) I am always amazing by all the talented ladies I meet online!!

So today I thought I share some old school love and new school love. How far have we come in the world of paper crafting . A pretty long way, it is only getting better!

                                            This was one of my first pages I posted online

                                         My scrapping style today!Always changing :)

So why do you scrap? Has your style changed? Do you still have the same LOVE you had when you started? Take a look back..  Fall in love with scrapbooking all over again.

Happy Weekend,

Thoughts on your age

I know a lot of us do not like to think about how old we are. But we are what we are. :) This year as I inched even closer to 40 I recorded my thoughts on turning 37. It hasn't been a yearly tradition for me but I have written down my thoughts on past birthdays. It is interesting to see how my perspectives have changed--and stayed the same. How old are you turning this year? Your thoughts on that age? Be sure to write them down--you'll really love looking back on your "young" perspective in 10 or 20 years :)

Meaningful Phrases

I have a notebook with a lot of meaningful phrases that I identify myself. Another day I was thinking, it would be much better to have them in layouts, so I started with this one...

"I have found that if you love life, life will love you right back. And if you love people, they will love you back" Athur Rubinstein.

Thanks for visiting us!

Scrap Your Job

One of the luxuries I have as a teacher is summer break, and it always flies by too quickly. But I'm so grateful that I get those two months every year to refresh, rejuvenate, and recharge. As the last weeks of summer creep up on me, I always get a little sad that my break is ending, but there's also a glimmer of enthusiasm. Last year, I took a moment to reflect on that excitement I feel at the beginning of the year and made this page:

I love my job, and I have lots more to say about it, so you may be seeing more layouts here about other aspects of my teaching. I hope you'll take some time to document the things you enjoy about the work you do. Please share them, as I would love to hear all about your job!

Oh Summer!!

Happy Monday Ladies,

I hope you all had a restfully weekend!! Let start the week off fabulous and free!!

Well can you believe summer is coming to a END!! No summer Please Don't GO!! I love everything about the summertime . Nice weather,shorts and flip flop ,oh I could live in flip flops for EVER!! I had a opportunity to take the entire summer off!! It was pure bliss I had a wonderful time!! So you can understand ME can't ya ??? I honestly am not ready for the harsh Minnesota winters !! Ice,snow ,boot,hat coats and all the other winter gear!!! NOT looking forward to it!! So I scrap my love of SUMMER!!

What is your favorite season?? Scrap it and have FUN!!

The Child in Me!

At my age... I still feel the little girl in me, SOMETIMES! hahaha! And who doesn't like to see Disneyland, the happiest place on earth! Oh well I was fortune enough to visit 2 of the world's Disney places, my first time was in 2000 in Anaheim, California and the latest was in Hongkong. The moment I heard the theme song playing "When I wish Upon a Star"... made me feel like a little girl giggling over Mickey and Minnie Mouse. I just can't explain what kind of joy I feel every time I go to themed parks like this, specially when I'm with my boys. Walking around the park, having ice cream and popcorn, waiting for your ride, buying little stuff for souvenirs and photo opp really excites me!

Now let me share some layouts of my Disney experience... hope you also have those things that brings out the child in you!




I wish to congratulate my co-DTs and Kristine for coming up with bright and inspiring ideas for everyone to scrap and create. I, myself is always mesmerized with those great pages. Thanks for always looking...

What Are Your Favorites?

We all have likes and favorites.  There may be things we like better than anything else. 

On my layout I made a list of my favorites:
 

• My favorite papers: Whatever catches my eye!
• My favorite punches: EK Success, Fiskars, Martha Stewart and Marvy Uchida.
• My favorite die cut machine: The Cricut!
• My favorite embellies: Felt, flowers, bling, ribbon, buttons, butterflies, chipboard frames, and transparency frames.
• My favorites to photograph to scrap: Me, my son, my cat, and family.
• My favorite subjects to scrap: Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Mother’s Day, Easter and etc.
• My favorite colors to use: I love happy colors like red, orange, purple, yellow, sky blue, fuchsia, lime green and etc.
• My favorite quote is from Proverbs 16:24: Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
• My favorite flowers: Sunflowers!
• My favorite past times: Scrapbooking, going to the movies, watching movies at home, and going out to eat.
• My favorite foods: Anything curry or jerk. I love Caribbean food.
• My favorite Actors: Keith Hamilton Cobb, Morris Chestnut, Denzel Washington, The Rock, LL Cool J, and etc.
• My favorite modes of transportation: Hummer, Mustang, Nissan trucks, Escalade, and Lexus truck.
• My favorite stores: Michael’s, Joann’s, Ross, Burlington, Dress Barn, Lane Bryant, Jessica London, Scrapbook.com and Memory Works.

 
Now it's your turn.  What are your favorites?

Oh! The Places You'll Go!

A very famous Dr Suess title today! It's funny I dont really know the Dr Suess books very well but I love this title so I used it on my layout today. I have always been very fortunate I have travelled many places across Europe, the Middle East, USA & Canada, The Picture I used today was from my childhood we had good friends with canal boats and we would spend many days in the summer at the moorings, It was seeing this title on the front of my childrens Dr Suess book that inspired this layout I had almost forgotten about these wonderful times.

Will you scrap an almost forgotten time from your childhood? Or how about use an inspirational quote?

Fashion Express

Happy Thursday Ladies,
Oh I have been sooo inspired by the fabulous layout here!! Such yumminess going on !! I know we all LOVE to shop for the latest and greatest SCRAPPIN SUPPLIES. Some of would spare NO expense on a new toy or latest gadget??

 I am talking Fall Fashion!! I love would sooo LOVE to go to New York City Fashion Week!! I Love shopping !! Really Girl's it relaxes my mind and empties my pocket!!" LOL" I  think it is really  fun to wake up early and Shop!!  (AKA Black Friday Fan) Love the day after Thanksgiving sales!! $$$ !! I must admit my little  brother is my TRUE BLUE shopping buddy we can go for hours!!!

What do you love to shop for? Do you really care about the latest TREND?? Scrap your thought on Fashion!! Have fun with it I sure did!!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday. Last year I made a page documenting 46 things about my 46th birthday. I think I will be doing a similar page this year.

Since I scrap 8 x 8, I couldn't fit all those things on my layout, so I added my journaling to the back, which reads, in case you want to know: 1) It was gray and rainy. 2) Farzad had to go in to work for a couple of hours. I thought he had forgotten about my birthday, but I think he was out getting me presents! 3) We had celebrated Gram's birthday yesterday, so my family celebration was put on hold until the next week. 4) We went to Friday's for lunch. 5)I had a salad because I was determined to get to my 40 pound mark. (I actually gained 2.4 pounds that week.) 6) We went to the Leesburg outlets. 7) Coldwater Creek was having a 50% and 70% off sale on their Travel knits & I got 23 pieces for around 200 bucks. 8) Farzad surprised me with a Wii. 9) I also got a Wii Fit. 10) And a Bamboo Fun Wacom tablet. 11) He got me a balloon that sang "Wild Thing...You make my heart sing" when you punched it. 12) And he bought me a Weight Watchers brownie sundae and put a candle in it. 13) My birthday fell on Labor Day this year, so I had the day off--and so did Farzad! 14) I needed a new bra because I was losing weight, so I got one at the outlets. 15) I got two pairs of sandals on sale at Easy Spirit. 16) I was kind of blue because I'm over the halfway mark toward turning 50. 17) I got a couple presents from students--a writer's notebook and a box of chocolate. (Since my birthday falls early in the year, I usually don't get presents.) 18) The next weekend, Farzad took me to Volt for my birthday dinner. He had planned to take me on my birthday weekend, but cancelled it when he thought we were taking Gram out for dinner. 19) We sat in the kitchen at Volt. 20) We had the chef's dining room tasting menu. 21) Six delicious courses. 22) My favorite was called "Iberico Wattle Pork Trotters." 23) It was definitely a fancy dinner. 24) They also served me a delicious birthday treat--orange creme fraiche with mint. 25) Mom said she'd cook anything for me, so I picked out some yummy Weight Watchers recipes and e-mailed them to her. 26) Mom was tired so she asked me if we could go out for dinner instead. 27) Then, everyone decided they wanted to watch football instead of go out for my birthday dinner, so could we go out for lunch instead?28) We had lunch at Bonefish Grill. 29) I had "Imperial Longfin." It was yummy. 30) And saucy shrimp, my favorite. 31) They served me a birthday treat, which I shared with everyone. 32) We went back to Mom's house for cake and presents. 33) Dawn bought a delicious cake and I only had a sliver because I wanted to make up for the 2.4 pounds I had gained last week. 34) I ended up losing one pound that week. 35) Mom got me a beautiful sheer, flowy poncho type top. 36) And a gift card to Coldwater Creek, my favorite store, for when I lose more weight. 37) Gram got me a beautiful necklace and earrings with lots of pretty sparkly stones and a cameo. 38) Dawn got me a big back filled with goodies... 39) Scrapbook stuff from my Two Peas wishlist. 40) A cool list book.41) 1980's conversation cards. 42) Some Philosophy bath gel. 43) Philosophy Boot Camp. 44) All in a cool bag that says "I love not camping." 45) Everyone sang me the "Jump Down Turn Around" song, just like I like. 46) I got to make a wish 4 times this year.

This layout may be more about my birthday than about me, but reading through this list, it does reveal a lot about me. 

On your next birthday, why not use your age and document some fun facts about your birthday?

Scrap Your Zodiac Sign Characteristics

Look up your zodiac sign characteristics on the internet.  Some of the characteristics will be true some will not.  Highlight or bold the ones that are true and have a regular font for the ones that aren't true.  Or you can just pick the characteristics out of the bunch that do describe you.

Here are some sites you can get your zodiac characteristics:

• http://zodiac-signs-astrology.com
• http://www.astrology-online.com
• http://www..astrology-insight.com

Or you can find your own by going to google.com.  Since I am a Virgo, I typed in "Virgo Characteristics".  Yes use the quotes.

Here are the characteristics of a Virgo that I chose to use from http://zodiac-signs-astrology.com/zodiac-signs/virgo.htm:

• Analytical
• Observant
• Reliable
• Precise
• Helpful

Here is my layout:

Here are some more *Virgo* examples from Scrapbook.com: 
  

http://www.scrapbook.com/gallery/?m=image&id=2854461&type=searchwords&s=Virgo&types=0

Journaling:

• Modest and shy
• Meticulous and reliable
• Practical and diligent
• Intelligent and analytical
• Hard-working
• Stubborn
• Fussy and a worrier
• Overcritical and harsh
• Perfectionist and conservative

   

http://www.scrapbook.com/gallery/?m=image&id=1803903&type=searchwords&s=Virgo&types=0

Now it is your turn!  Scrap your zodiac sign!

If money weren't a issue...

I'm not a rich girl and I'm not a material girl, but sometimes I catch myself thinking "If I had lot of money, I would...".
I think that all of us thought about it sometime in life. Unless your're rich! lol...

So let's leave behind the worries and let's play, fantasy and scrap! If money weren't a issue, what you would do? Let me know your wishlist... Have our own Mc Donald's like in "Richie Rich"? Or a academy? Wear expensive dresses, shoes, bags? What else???
Here is my Layout:

JOURNALING:
I would travel around the world.
I would buy a bigger apartment.
I would have my own movie theater with 3D technology.

Guilty Pleasure

It all started with this.....

Not the movie silly, the books. Once I read the Twilight series I was totally hooked. On what you say????? Paranormal Romance novels. They are not just any ole romance...they are romance with a twist. It could be a vampire, a werewolf, a demon, or a shapeshifter. Either way, the guy always gets the girl or the girl gets the guy, but there is drama, mystery, action, and lots of romance!!!! It all started with Twilight but then it was Sookie Stackhouse, or The Lords of the Underworld, Black Dagger Brotherhood, Night Huntress....you name it, I'm reading it. They are just sooooo bad but I like them anyway!!!!!

So, what is your guilty pleasure? It could be hiding chocolate all over the house, or endulging yourself with the latest celeb gossip magazine. We all have them so why not scrap them!!!!!!