Stacked Stones Studio!

Ok...this week's word over at the One Little Word Challenge is* automatic .* Had me scratching my head for awhile...first all I could think of was that I drive an " automatic ." That sounded old. Then I thought about something my mother always said when I was a little girl..."Saying 'thank you' should be automatic ." That sounded preachy (but great advise). And then this afternoon, I saw squirrels out in my yard trying to bury nuts in the ground (which is a whole OTHER story because my yard is all ROCKS) -- and I automatically reached for my camera....aha! Finally -- my one little word could become a layout. Decided to play a bit outside my normal style. Have been seeing some cool "funky frames" on the Scrap In Style tv site....and wanted to see what would happen if I tried to create one myself. Have been waiting for a fun project to use a wonderful kit filled with Tinkering Ink goodies from Scrap It! Online....so all these things j...

My guy really loves "peace." Not that I like conflict -- but he would almost rather go to the dentist for a root canal! It is a true sign of his love and commitment to me that he is willing to weather the storms that come in relationship. I so appreciate and love that about him! This is from the Scrap In Style TV July kit called I "heart" Candy Town. Hope everyone is off to a great weekend -- I am glad to be back in Nashville -- this was a long week -- and I say again, VERY long week!

My friend Renee just handed me a picture and said, "do you want to scrap this?" Obviously, the answer was YES! How cute is Miss Sweet P? Of course, I had to take the comical route on it. As you who know her know -- she LOVES everything "princess." When I saw her pensive look and the red, white and blue of her outfit -- I couldn't help but compose a fairy tale where she just found out that America doesn't have "princesses" so she decides she has to become President instead. Ok -- at least it amused me! Am looking forward to being home on Friday...too many days away from home and from my scrap table. Hope you all are having a great week.

Today is the anniversary of my Mom going home to be with the Lord. It has been a year of processing lots of things. I decided to do a layout to contain some of my reflections...most are hidden in the envelope -- but the tag reads...I miss you, Mom. I do. We struggled most of the time with our relationship. Probably for reasons on both sides. Still -- when all is said and done -- I miss her. She poured a lot into my life that I am grateful for: 1. Love 2. Faith 3. Love of literature and the English language 4. Creativity 5. Adopting me and giving me a home and a heritage. 6. A sense of right and wrong 7. Love for my sister 8. Appreciation of nature. 9. Imagination -- she is the one that showed me that a refrigerator box could become a personal clubhouse. 10. Sense of humor. I know she is at home with the Lord -- and I am so grateful that she is no longer sick -- nor hurting. Honestly, I wish we had been able to get everything worked out so we could have been friends -- isn'...

OK ...so I never thought I would be scrapping THIS picture. Oh sure...I loved it when I took it...who could resist a baby face -- even if that face IS an orangutan !?!?! But scrap it?!?! Good grief. However, it was as irrresitable as that face when the One Little Word Challenge was the word sIMPlicity. The journaling reads: Have you ever watched the monkeys in the zoo? Not much bothers them. They are happy and very content. Their life is simple. No email...no text messages, but they still manage to be content. I guess I need to live more s IMP ly. OK I also can't resist a good play on words...and I really do want to add simplicity to my everyday life? How about you?

What shows did you love to watch when you were younger? Of course, like most kids, I loved to watch TV -- but if I had to narrow it down my list was definitely filled with funny women: Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, and Doris Day. I had saved this copy of the Saturday Evening Post from 1976 -- (yes, I realize MANY of you weren't even BORN then, much less starting to SAVE things) with Carol Burnett on the cover. Hadn't really known what I would do with it -- just wanted to keep it. Then a few days ago, there was a challenge on Scrap In Style tv -- that was to use something for your background other than patterned paper or cardstock. There are LOTS of great responses...ranging from clear hambly layouts -- to glass. I loved the creative things people came up with. This was my response to the challenge. I took the whole magazine -- mod podged the first eight pages together (leaving the article about Carol intact) and then used a picture of me from the year the magazine was from (yes ...

I think it is good to get outside your comfort zone and try new things....occasionally! *smile* I have seen several very talented ladies scrapping 6 x 12 for a few weeks now -- and I thought I would give it a whirl. Turns out -- I love it. It is a really manageable size -- immediately gives you two different orientations that have really different possibilities...you can use wallet size photos and still fill the page...and it seems to come together quickly. I'm not saying I am giving up 12 x 12 or 8 x 8, but it is a fun option to throw into the mix. Here are a couple of layouts I created -- the first is of Weston when he was building a Carpetball table (which if you haven't played is a TON of fun -- kind of like shuffle board on carpet with pool balls)...really got out on the limb with this one -- using cardboard to give it a rougher look. (Cosmo Cricket paper) The second one is from a Scrap It!! kit with Urban Lily. Loved the papers...wonderful kit! Have a great day ...

to be back at my scrap table... Here are a couple of lo from my time today. My house was clean (no distractions), the CD player was blaring a new CD from Desperation Band...and my hands and mind were busy. So good! I arrive home to find the Scrap In Style tv kit waiting for me...just so delicious...it is called Shabby Rockstar....has a great mixture of Hambly, Jenni Bowlin and Lil Davis...along with some absolutely unique embellishments. I immediately thought of this picture of a friend of mine's little girl in total abandon in a recent rainstorm. I am working on a collection of "scrapping your faith" layouts and this one just about put itself together. Hope you have had a great weekend...relaxing, creative, energizing or whatever you needed it to be. Have a great week!

Then I would like to suggest that you consider neurosurgery! I am convinced this generation of text messagers and im'ers has a future of carpel tunnel syndrome ahead of them! *laughing* I was doing a photo shoot with Weston for a project I am working on -- and I had to laugh when I sat down to review the shots...because about every eighth photo had him either checking his cell phone or replying to a message....totally cracked me up. Note to self: remove cell phone from general vacinity of any future photoshoot! This is a little mini-album I did for my nephew...inspired by an album that Ali Edwards had done...Gotta love the Hambly. Hope you all had a good fourth of July week....I am happy to be back from my conference...and using the weekend to get caught up. Blessings...