Challenge #1-2013 MMDT-"Occasionally..."

If you've been following along, meeting the new team, you will no doubt be looking forward to all that is in store for this year. This first challenge has brought a few secondary challenges as everyone became comfortable with the workings of Journella, getting the “bugs” out, and getting their pages completed and presented. I hope you have enjoyed this look at the team as they've introduced themselves to you…publishing their stories! And it’s up to you to publish your own thoughts on their work…get in there and comment and cheer them on their way to success!

What’s black and white and ‘red’ all over?

You've heard the old joke and you know the answer is a newspaper!

So what does that have to do with my First Challenge for January? Well, like a newspaper this challenge layout publishes the truth about me! Well, at least some of it! And I've gone with a black Mosaic Moments grid with Red and White Paper Tiles along with some folded white tag for journal blocks.  

NOTE: When wondering why the letters to the title did not fit when I went to place them on the red as they had in the "practice" I should have spell checked myself! I'm not going to re-shoot the photos...but just to prove there are some things I don't do well...now you know that too!  

My title comes from the Toby Keith song “I Wanna Talk about Me.” (go hear the song!) The chorus is posted in the side bar on the left and a part of it was used to develop the theme, “what I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see.” Photos new and old were selected to illustrate those things about me to share with you. As a scrapbooker I'm good about talking about everybody else...now it's my turn!

PAGE ONE

Main Journal Block:

The first time I heard this song by Toby Keith I said…”I can relate.” I knew one day I would use it for a page in an album I’d scrap that would be “all about me”. The scary part was actually doing something about it. THIS is it! There are few photos of me as I’m the official photographer, but in a history of me, I can choose the photos I want to use. This page may not be all I first imagined, but it is an introduction to what I’m likely to spend my time talking about if you and I were ever to sit and chat.   

 WHAT I LIKE:

My favorite quote:

Seen in the tease block above, it was this quote that kept me moving forward after my husband died in 2005. I still love it today.

 “Bleeding Cowboy” font was used for the quote and LD Saloon font for John Wayne’s name printed on white. It was then mounted on a red MM paper tile and then mounted on a square of denim. The denim had first been put through the Xyron, mounted on a paper tile, then top-stitched in red.  Copper brads were inserted in each corner to try to give that look of jeans.

This is a photo of me at about age two watering the garden…I still love flowers in my garden…I just don’t like the weeding! So taking photos is what I enjoy the most in my garden now! Much easier on my back!

PAGE TWO

WHAT I THINK:

Including a rare photo of my husband and myself together, as we work on the house we were building.  Even the kids helped to work on the house at all stages of the project…and have continued to do so.

WHAT I KNOW:

The Bible is the instruction book for my life, where we've drawn the principles to raise our children, and how we live.  For us, that’s meant home educating all five of our children…and still going strong with Andrew! I can’t imagine a life apart from this wonderful adventure we've been on all these years, yes, ups and downs, but so much joy! And grandchildren ARE a crown for our lives…Isabella will be one year old in a few short weeks…how time has flown.

WHAT I WANT:

Travel…My Dad, taking our family around the country learning American History on site really put a roaming bug in me. My parents were both born in Scotland, immigrated to Canada where they met and married and then eventually came to the US…so learning about this country was something my Dad felt strongly about.  There are only 8 states I haven’t been to and would love to be able to see at least the six in the Continental U.S.

We've camped for years and we have carried two tents for our big group; although Andrew and I have a small tent, as it’s usually just the two of us now (everybody working),  we often find the shelter of a cabin much better in the rain. We've had some rough camping experiences, but lots of memories too, much easier to smile and laugh at now, than then!

WHAT I SEE:

Photography has been a big part of my growing up years, my Dad really encouraged me by entrusting me with his 35 mm when I was very young.  The shutterbug is a lifelong disease!! I love the details of the Creation that I can capture in so many shots and my garden provides so many willing models. Included here are some of the ways I get to be creative…from handmade cards, quilts and knitted items to the cookies made for my daughter Hannah’s licensed home bakery. (Story Girl Cakes)   I used to do quite a bit of cross-stitching and this one (lower left corner) was one I designed, executed and entered in the county fair (yes, we are fair people)…won first place in my category!  This photo of me is an old one but one of the few with my artwork (an acrylic landscape) on display.  

Maybe it’s the kids’ books I've been reading lately with Isabella, but an interactive page sounded like a great idea. Before deciding on the fold over journal block I had pockets printed from the FREE download at www.snapncrop.com but debated about how to get all the info on the size with which I was working. This technique is one shared in another challenge with pockets,(see the Challenge for May 2012, Changed Forever) and works just as well for “flaps”.

Here's a quick look:

Be sure your layout is correctly positioned in the page protector...very important! Line up your metal edge ruler along the top side of the fold where you will be bringing the flap out. 

Begin cutting by piercing the protector with your exacto knife just beyond the edge of the area. This will allow you some give. The tension created by the position of the rule above the fold will help make the cut, do not press too hard, you don't want to cut your grid paper.

Finished look...flaps out...they will be protected by the facing layer of page protector and in time and the weight of your album, lay much flatter! 

Thanks for stopping by for the first challenge of 2013…I hope we’ll be seeing a lot of you and that you will join in on the open challenges and post your work alongside ours. There’ll be more to see this year, so stop back frequently, and let us know what you think!

andrea