Family Celebrations

Hi there,
It is a beautiful summer here in Michigan. Very hot at the moment, but I wait for these days all winter, so in no way am I complaining. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I am sitting in front of an open window, just drinking in the beauty around me...JOY!!!

Today I have another page from my daughter's album. This one is about the baptism of their first child. Oh, what a beautiful memory that is. We are so blessed that their home is a God filled haven for the kids to grow up in. The ceremony at the church was beautiful and it was such a happy event. Their son is now 22 years old and getting his PhD at MIT. Woo hoo... we are so happy for him. He is a wonderful, God filled young man. May the Holy Spirit lead him to fulfill the dream God has for him.

So, here's the layout:

The paper is an old world tapestry print that I just love. It has the muted colors of blue, olive green and tea stain. Great for traditional moments like this.
As you can see, I matted in blue and olive green. The branch flourish on the side is from Blue Fern and I added some some small flower dies from Memory Box dies. That's the little blue bells that you see. The dies that are on the market right now are so amazing. They are just beautiful. The problem is, I keep waiting to buy because everyone is coming out with new stuff. Especially with CHA coming up...I guess we had better all wait what all is new after that!!!

I love the sentiment at the bottom.
I used a CHERISH rub-on and then stamped over it to say "remember this moment". I had put the cherish on first and then got this new stamp for "remember this moment" and just really needed to use that in this layout. I like the way it looks.

Here's the challenges I entered with this:
http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.com/ "Therefore with joy shall you draw waters out of the well of salvation" from Isaiah...how fitting is that?
http://citycrafter.blogspot.com/ "Dress it Up" I feel this is dressed up with the large branch flourish and the flowers added on...plus the sentiment on the bottom. I hope this fits with City Crafter's idea of "dressed up".
http://berry71bleu.blogspot.com/ Anything goes...this is my second submission for this month.
http://www.rheddandrosies.blogspot.co.uk/ This one is anything goes also.

That is it for today!!
Thank you so much for visiting. Please leave a comment...I love, love, love to hear from you...

elena

My favorite things...A day at the beach...

Hi there everyone,

What a week...
I've made several layouts for that album I'm working on and it is so much fun!!!
Seeing pictures of my grandkids when they were babies is just PRICELESS!!!
It's hard to even stop looking at pictures and deciding what to scrap. I can't include all the pics just because they're so cute, I have to pick important events. But, for me, that is the hardest part. I ooh and aah and procrastinate. Finally, I have to just make myself stop, decide and get on with it.

This layout I am showing today is the last one I made, because one of my favorite challenge sites is "Scrapping Every Day Miracles" and their new one for July is to scrap about "favorite things". That was great because I wanted to include these pictures in the album and they represent my very favorite things...family & beach. There is nothing I like better than to be with my family AND be at the beach.  I always tell people that when I get to heaven, God will have a place for me by the ocean. I can really see it...a nice open cottage...lots of windows...a beach, an adirondack chair, a pretty white large shawl and a paint canvas with brushes and paints. (I don't have the talent to paint here on earth...but it's one of the gifts I want in heaven).  Daydreaming again....what's your dream????
http://scrappingeverydaymiracles.blogspot.no/  favorite things and an office supply item. Mine is the star paperclip.

Okay, on to my layout...
I have to tell you that this is a lift from a layout I saw on someone's blog a long time ago. I printed it out and have used it several times since. It's such a different layout and I've liked it every time I've had the chance to do it. This one is the beach, but it would be really good in snow too...

The pictures were taken in 1995 with our middle daughter and her three youngsters. The baby at the top is baby Rachel. That skinny guy in the middle is my hubby. That layout was perfect. You have to cut the pics up really narrow and that brings the images to the front focus.  So, as I am sure you can tell, I am happy with the outcome.

So here's the other challenges I am entering:
http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.com/anything goes...
         fun with family and grandchildren
http://countryviewchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/summer sizzle
         what's more sizzling than a day at the beach with little people!!!
http://dutchdare-cardchallenges.blogspot.com/summer pictures and colors
         It's hard to see on the photo, but I used white pearl paint to stencil circles         on the background and also stamped quite a few dragonflies around the tiles.
 http://www.hidinginmycraftroom.com/ freestyle...anything goes.

That's it for today.
Have a very blessed day...

Elena