Another Dad page

If you like stitching try this - on this layout I couldn't decide what color to stitch the flames so I took several different colors and took one strand from each. I really liked the way it turned out.

The journaling on this page was actually written before my dad died. He had retired from racing the summer before and I had decided for Christmas (or it might have been something I wanted to make him when he was in the hospital. I can't really remember.) that I wanted to make him a page about his racing. I started with the journaling first and finished it about three days before he died.  I even remember thinking that when Dad reads it he's going to say, "what, do you think I'm dying?" It ended up being on the back of his funeral program. 

On July 16, 2005 I took my son to his first race. Little did I know it would be my dad's last. He always talked about retiring, but I just couldn't let myself believe it. I couldn't imagine my dad not racing. I have enough memories or him racing to fill a book. From being 3-years-old and mistakenly cheering for him even though he was sitting behind me to almost jumping the fence when his car was engulfed in flames. 

I was always on edge when he was on the track and he always seemed as calm as could be - never getting frustrated or at least never showing that he was. My favorite thing came from a night when he was having trouble with his car. Seeing the disappointment on my face, he simply said, "If you're going to watch a race, out on the track is the best seat in the house!" It was his constant upbeat outlook, goofy personality and kind heart that made you an instant fan. It was his quick leap to offer assistance to a driver with a broken car that made him a pit favorite.

After weekends filled with racing, Sunday's were spent with recaps of the nights before. I loved how he would talk as if none of us were there to see it. You could see by the sparkle in his eyes that re-telling the stories was almost as exciting as the race itself.

Now that he will no longer be racing, the smell of rubber and fuel won't be as sweet, the taste of stale chips and nacho cheese won't be as good, and the sound of revving motors won't be the same without hearing that little Ford Mustang I know by heart.

Dad, you are forever in my racing Hall of Fame and a legend in my eyes.

I can't ever write my journaling by speaking to the reader. I like so much more to just tell the story. With this page doing that almost makes it sound like I wrote it after he died. 

Sorry about all the dad posts...it's getting close to that time of year. 

Lesson learned.

My last conversation with my dad. I feel so unbelievably lucky that I had the opportunity to say what I did to him. I remember that exact moment like it was yesterday. I kind of have to thank my stepmother. Sure that moment was a huge stepping stone into my intense dislike for her but if she hadn't said what she did, I wouldn't have ever said what I did.

*Little side note - Click on the page and you can see where Jackson got all that hair from!

* Another little side note -  I spelled conversation wrong on my layout and of all places in the title! I caught it when I took the picture and then forgot to go back and take another with the word fixed. I came back inside after I took the picture and there on my scrap table was a sad little blue "n" that somehow got squeezed out. That's what I get for working in the wee hours of the night! 


Whenever I make a page about my dad I get so mad at the very small amount of pictures I have of him. A few racing pictures, some random goofy ones... I only have 5 of him and Drew, one of which is out of focus. I wasn't really scrapbooking that often then so I didn't have the constant "Oh, get a picture of this!" flashing through my brain like I do now. I would take tons of Drew but I just never even thought to take a lot of everyone else. Big, huge regret.

A few layouts

I really don't have anything exciting to post about. Just a few layouts that I'll be doing in some upcoming classes. I'm really starting to look forward to our yearly trip to the pumpkin patch after doing these pages. Although finding a weekend that we can go will be a big challenge. I'm pretty much booked solid for the month of October. ( I forgot to mention that the pumpkins made with circles came from the October issue of Creating Keepsakes. In the Tools & Techniques column Jennifer McGuire made the cutest little jack-o-lantern with chipboard circles. I love it so much that I'll be using it on many, many Halloween and fall pages. It seems that every time I read her column I find something that makes me say, "Well I never thought to use _____ like that!" She's awesome!)

Drew and I have been out looking for a Halloween costume here and there. We can't seem to find anything he likes because he's got his heart set on being Cruella De Ville. Yes, you read that right. Our little boy wants to be Cruella De Ville from 101 Dalmatians. I think it would be hilarious but I'm a little afraid that with a big fur coat it's going to come across more pimp than puppy snatching villain. Maybe he could carry around Jackson dressed as a Dalmatian puppy...

I'm a blogging slacker!

Working, working, working. Have I ever told you how much I love my job? Seriously, it should be playing, playing, playing. Kits, classes, CKC...oh my!

It's not often that it happens but every once in awhile I get the opportunity to use pink. Pink isn't really my favorite color but it's a nice change of pace since I stick to mainly "boyish" colors. On September 27 Scrapbook Generation is having a big 'Scrap Pink' event all day and let me tell you I've been having so much fun making projects for the silent auction. This door hanger...



is one of the projects that I made. (I was super excited to use flowers!) I've also got a few layouts that will be auctioned off too. All of them drowning in pink!

The next two layouts are from a class I taught at SG. I'm doing a 4 month series based on my article in Creating Keepsakes on turning a 1-page scraplift into a 2-page layout. This first month we did the mirror image approach. Mirror image scraplifting is one of the easiest since all you do is repeat the same design on the second page in reverse. Like if you stamped the left page onto the right page.



Notice how they are both pretty much the same layout including the title across the top and the journaling on the left side. The only big difference is the two hand stitched circles that I used to fill some empty space. The great thing about mirror image scraplifting is that it will pretty much work with any 1-page layout that you want to scraplift and you will always end up with a well-balanced look.

(A little tip from me...) Try to visualize the layout as a whole instead of two separate pages. Avoid large gaps or margins between the elements on each side. Notice on my 1-page layout how everything is in the center. For the two page layout I moved both sides in towards the middle and followed the rule for consistent internal margins (making each margin the same size) so everything would be grouped together.

I didn't really intend for this post to turn into a mini article but I tend to babble! :)

I just might be losing my mind

I not quite back on the page a day track and probably won't be until I'm done with CKC Kansas City but I'm still trying to squeeze a layout in whenever I can. I'm really trying to go back and get a lot of Drew's baby pages done. I'm so forgetful these days and I'm terrified I'll forget a lot of the memories that I want to get on pages. I'm beginning to think that with each kid you lose a little bit of memory. It's gotten to the point that I have to make a "to do" list every single day. If I don't I forget everything!



Somehow I have managed to lose some of my layouts from my page a day challenge. Because of that I fear that I'm also losing my mind. How do you lose 12 x 12 layouts! It's not like they might have slipped underneath the couch cushions with all the spare change and crayons. Come on, 12 x 12! I've pretty much had a headache since I discovered their disappearance. Hopefully I find them soon!
Update: The headache is gone and the missing layouts have been found! What a relief!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! :)

Warning! Embarrassment ahead. For me, not you...

(Before I get to typing too fast and end up forgetting... the swirly frame that I used for the quote board on my last post is from Fancy Pants.)

If you can't tell I don't scrapbook in any kind of order. I just work on what's jumping around in my head at that time. That explains why I am posting a Christmas and winter page in September.





So let's talk a little NKOTB!

Was there anyone out there who didn't like New Kids on the Block!?! Allie, I had the ginormous buttons too and just like you I had a Joe one and a group one. Both attached to a denim jacket in a sea of smaller NKOTB buttons (and a few generic buttons with sayings like, 'Bust a Move' and 'whatever' in ultra neon colors.) Would it be too dorky of me to admit that my bedroom was decorated in NKOTB and cough*Iwenttoaconcert*cough. Wow. I can't believe that I told you all that one.

When Mike and I were moving into our new house he happened to find something that I had hoped would never be seen with eyes other than my own. A letter that would forever lessen my coolness factor. (Who am I kidding? What coolness factor!?!) A letter stuffed deep into a box filled with things like my Cabbage Patch doll's birth certificate and notes that were passed back and forth in school. I was unpacking boxes in the kitchen when I heard the crinkling of paper, a snicker and then Mike saying, "Dear Joe, My name is Allison. I'm 16 and I love you. Will you go with me?" Well you could clearly see from my penmanship that I was 8, maybe 9. I could feel my face getting so red from embarrassment. By the time he was done reading my deep and heartfelt love letter we were both in tears from laughing so hard. The things you learn when you move in with someone.

Just for fun tell me who your favorite NKOTBer was and what was your favorite song. AND...
If you're looking for a trip down memory lane or need a little NKOTB pick me up to perk up the day... push play and enjoy.

Fancy Pants stuff

If you haven't noticed I've been on a quote board kick. I just bought a huge canvas, and by huge I mean almost bigger than me. The plan for the canvas? I'm not sure just yet but I do know it's going to involve paint, stitching (probably another quote) and lots of pictures. I've got a few ideas running around in my head so I can't wait to get started on it.



A few years ago my Grandpa Arnall asked me if I wanted my Grandma Arnall's sewing machine. I actually snickered when he asked me. "Um, no. I don't sew." I said. Well lately, all of this stitching on my pages has sparked an interest in other crafty adventures. So last weekend I asked my Grandpa if the offer still stood on the sewing machine. This time he was the one that laughed since it was just a few years ago that I said, "I don't sew."

The last time I actually used a sewing machine was in junior high and I almost got my first "F" because of my skills, or lack of. Somehow I managed to sew the collar of my shirt to the elbow. Don't ask. I have no idea how I did it or how in the world I didn't notice it until we had to try on our creations and "model" them for the class. I walked out with my arm wrapped around my neck. Thank goodness the teacher gave me the opportunity to fix it, which I only did for the grade. The bright blue "Class of 98" sweatshirt never made it into my junior high attire. You know, it just didn't fit in with my New Kids on the Block buttons and big hair...

Okay, enough on that. Back to my Grandpa.

He said that I could have the sewing machine IF I promised to patch all of his clothes that were in need of repair. Obviously he's never heard the story of my attempt at sewing. (I think he's one of those men who thinks that all women are born with the complete knowledge and skills to cook, sew and all those womanly type of things.) I then saw the serious look on his face slowly wrinkle up in a grin. That's Grandpa for you. Thank goodness he was kidding about the repairing and I walked out the door with a new toy.

The next day I went out and bought some fabric and other sewing necessities. When I got home I sat down in front of the machine wondering if I would ever be able to remember how to thread the damn thing. Why, oh why do they have to make that part so difficult? Let's just say it took me awhile to figure it out. When I finally did conquer the threading maze I started working on a quilt. I'm sure it will be interesting and have a lot of "personality". Personality meaning lots of mistakes. I'm fine with that...as long as I don't sew it to my sleeve or something!

I'm going to post my CKC Kansas City schedule on here since I've had a few people ask. I would have done it sooner but I just got my schedule today. If you're going make sure you come see me and say hi!

Thursday
Milestones and Moments 6:00 p.m. - 7:30

Friday
Fun and Fast Tips for Fabulous Journaling 11:10 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.
A Peek Into My Week 1:50 p.m. - 2:50
Flocked and Fabulous 4:30 p.m. - 5:30

Saturday
Flocked and Fabulous 8:30 a.m. - 9:30
A Peek Into My Week 9:50 a.m. - 10:50
Fun and Fast Tips for Fabulous Journaling 12:30 p.m. - 1:30
What Matters Most 3:10 p.m. - 4:10

Tulsa, kits and an anniversary...

So I survived CKC in Tulsa just fine. I must admit that I was pretty nervous but it didn't last long. The biggest challenge was having to teach so fast since each class was only an hour! I did met a lot of fun people and had a great time visiting with so many.


The worst part of the trip was that my bio on my sign and in the program booklet had not been updated. I'm pretty sure I would be freaking out if I was still pregnant. It was very uncomfortable and embarrassing for me and the five people who asked me when I was due. (I felt horrible for the ones that asked and let them know that I was expecting, no pun intended, people to ask me that!) It probably didn't help that I was wearing a shirt that very easily could have been mistaken for a maternity shirt. Believe me the next day I wore clothes that proved I wasn't with child. The whole situation gave me a pretty good laugh! Looks like I'm back on the diet track!

Tulsa was a lot of firsts for me. First time teaching classes that big. First time away from Jackson. First road trip all alone. First time staying in a hotel all by myself. First time to conquer an eight lane highway. First time to speak in front of 300 people!

Next up is CKC Kansas City!

I had the opportunity to play around with the Creating Keepsakes September Kit of the Month. It is a fun kit filled with chipboard (some bare and some not), clear shapes and foam pieces.


I couldn't resist that cute little chipboard house! I thought it would be great for a quote board to display in our home. The house, hearts and butterflies were all from the kit.

For this page I played around with some of the foam and chipboard. The "Happy" is big foam letters that I inked. My favorite chipboard pieces in the kit were the frames. (I used the one with "smile" on it.)

More foam fun on this page. All the gray arrows are foam. I also used a lot of clear circles all over the page. (They didn't really show up in the picture very well.) The circles of brads are around clear circles. The "run&play" is another piece of the chipboard. There were a ton of word photo corners with things like "picture perfect, what happened, abcdeft, 123456, hahaha, etc. They are so cute!

Mike and I celebrated our 4th anniversary this weekend. It seemed like it had been forever since we had a night out together! Everything we planned or did flopped but we still had a great time. The worst part was our dinner. We went to the Macaroni Grill after hearing from several people how great it was. I thought that for once I would be adventurous and try something new. See I'm one of those people that finds something I like and then order it every single time I go there. Kind of boring but this time I wished I would have been boring Allison and went with something I knew would be good. Our waiter recommended Lobster Ravioli with asparagus in a butter cream sauce. It sounded so good and I couldn't wait to try it. I took the first bite and it definitely tasted different than anything I tried before. I didn't want to be to quick to judge so I took a second bite. I wish I wouldn't have done that. I actually gagged. It was horrible!! (I must say everything else we had there was fabulous and the waiter brought us a wonderful chocolate cake for our anniversary. And by wonderful I mean the best chocolate cake I've ever had!) The funniest part was later on that evening when we started to talk about our dinner I had to change the subject because just talking about it was making me sick! I have never in my life had a reaction like that to food! I would definitely recommend the restaurant but you might want to stay clear of the lobster ravioli! :)