Halloween "Row House" Swap

Recently I participated in a Halloween swap and just received my last one in the mail. We were supposed to send out three and receive three back.

These are the three I created and sent. They are almost identical. It's hard to see in the photo but there are little black fences on either side of the doors, a little black cat in front, and scary things in the windows!

And these are the ones I received - love them! I haven't yet decided how to display them. Maybe string them into a banner or prop in a tablescape.  Right now I just wish it would get cooler and feel more like fall/Halloween!

DLP unPlanner - September

It's been another two weeks since I've posted. I stay busy enough to seem to avoid blogging! Keep saying I'll do better... We did babysit the two boys from Austin (ages 4 and 15 months) for four days and my husband has also been laid up with a bad bout of sciatica so those are my excuses!

The theme for September's DLP is "Roll Call - Being Accountable."

This is my monthly divider, using the Bo Bunny divider that was in the kit, along with a pocket and tag as I've done each month.  I use the tag to add the month's theme. I used similar colors of Distress inks for the tag and embossed the three hearts in white. The ribbon is hand-dyed.

On the back of the monthly divider is the monthly calendar.

This is the first week of September.  I'm using the kraft calendars this month.

The PAC art challenge for the first week was "Add an Organic Element." I used a previously painted card and stenciled a leaf in white. For the organic element I wrapped a stick from the yard with a fuzzy fiber and tied it to the top of the PAC. The words are very old clear stickers.

Here is the weekly view for the second week. The dates are an exclusive stamp set by Rae Missigman for DLP. I love it but it only goes to - luckily I was able to make "eleven" from the "seven" stamp.

The art challenge was to stitch on the PAC so I used a section of a "mop-up paper" for the base and added gelli print circles for the flowers and book page leaves. I machine stitched all in place and hand-stitched the tiny yellow circle of dyed paper towel in place.

And this is the third week, the week just ending. I used pink and yellow paints on the background but it turned out pretty dull because of the kraft card stock. I then used a small chevron roller stamp and white ink to lighten it. The dates are written on little banners punched from security envelopes.

The PAC challenge this week was to make marks in black and white over a colored background.  This background is painted with several colors; then I stamped the flowers in black and added white and black doodles throughout. Adding black and white marks to any project really makes it pop!

The List Ten for this month is to list 10 things you hope to gain as you grow older.  I printed the "list TEN" template on white paper and secured it to kraft card stock. I added colorful artist paper and colored hole reinforcers to the spine and border-punched the right edge. For the bullet points I used the centers of colored hole reinforcers. On the back I randomly stenciled a few colors and added some random items laying on my desk! I love being able to use up "stuff." Finally, I added paint splatters in pink and orange.

Front

Back

Documented Life unPlanner 2016 - catch-up on August

As I explained in the last post,  I've been busy! Though I haven't posted, I have stayed current with each week's calendars and challenges.  So here's the remainder of August. With this month finished, we are now 3/4 of the way through the year with only four months to go! 

I have completely filled my second binder and will now have to start a third. I love how chunky my two binders are, but really wish they could all be in one volume. This photo shows the binder as closed as it gets! For this binder, I did not use the kraft one that was included in the DLP kit. I found this one at Target and adore the pattern so much I will not even decorate it. The black and white  make all the colorful inside goodness really pop!

Week 2 Calendar (I chose not to do a Dare 2B card this month)

Week 3 Calendar (week of birthdays)

List Ten - 10 Places You'd Like to Visit in the Past

Front

Instead of using the regular List Ten template, I used a skinny, scalloped-edge page from the DLP kit. I used the centers of painted hole reinforcers for the bullet points. I covered the back with a painted collage sheet and added a "to do list" printed on kraft. Again, I love white pen on kraft!

Back

Week 3 PAC

This week's challenge was to document a happy event during the week. Since it was my birthday on Friday, that was my focus. This was an old journal card (with the face, "me" and a colorful background printed on it). I added lots of paint and then adhered the macarons image from a planner printout.  I doodled a bit and called it done.

Week 4 Calendar

Week 4 PAC 

The challenge was to highlight a favorite number. I chose "4" for my four grandsons. I stamped several different sizes of 4's in gray and pink inks on the background and then stamped the large 4 in black. I then doodled in white to "highlight" the number.

To hold this month's 4 PACs I used another stacked page protector. The photo below shows the front; the third and fourth cards are on the back.

Week "5" - last few days of Aug.

Since there were only 3 days left in August, I used only half a calendar page. The colorful circles for the dates were pushed from an old Stampers Anonymous catalog. The scalloped border is cut from a security envelope. Love those black and white designs.

Monthly Pocket Picks

I changed it up this month for the monthly pocket picks. Usually I use a page protector and fuse tool to enclose the bits and pieces of my month. Since this month was so busy and I had lots of photos, I decided to create a card stock fold-out.  Below is the "booklet" folded up. I had to add a tiny decorative clothespin to hold it closed! The spine is made from a decorative file folder I found at the Target $ Spot. I like the black contrast with all the colors. Most of this booklet is covered with the artist collage papers that were included in the kit. They are the artwork of Rae Missigman and Sandy Keene (co-moderators of DLP).

Front

 The top flap opens up and reveals a postcard I received from an art friend in New Mexico. It was so cute I wanted to save it.  I added a black tag with photos of Drew and Grant who we babysat early in August. To the right you can barely see a tag from some flip-flops I bought this month. This flips open.

Top flap open revealing the front of the left flap

The left flap is dedicated to my birthday. There are photos of flowers I received from my husband and the cards I received. The title, as well as the sequin border, were cut from one of my cards and adhered to the page. The label and ribbon are from the box of chocolate that Kelly and her family sent me, along with their note.

The center page has photos of all the boys and activities we did last weekend in Austin. On the right, I covered the back of the shoe tag with black paper and added a photo of an art piece I received in an art swap.

Top, left and right flaps opened

Lastly, this is the back of the booklet. Since we stayed a few extra days, I added a few more photos from that time as well as the stickers from the 2 ERs we visited!

 And with that, this binder is finished! On to September and the last quarter of the year!

Life Happens!

I'm back after a few week's hiatus. Lots going on here. We had 5 immediate-family birthdays within a week, babysat in Albuquerque, the kids from Austin surprised us with a visit one weekend, and we joined Dana and her boys in Austin with Kelly's family last weekend. 

On Sunday before we were to leave, my husband was taking photos of the boys in the bathtub and twisted his back. Within an hour, he could hardly stand up or walk. We spent 6 hours in the local hospital's ER and couldn't drive home until Tuesday. With no improvement, we then went into the Dallas VA ER Tuesday night. Still no improvement so went back today. After driving over there (almost an hour) and waiting for awhile, they sent us to the Ft. Worth VA Clinic. After waiting several hours there, we had to leave without seeing a dr. We were hoping for an x-ray or something but now will have to wait until after the holiday weekend. Very frustrating for me, but much more so for him!

I'll leave you with a few pics that we tried to get of us and the four boys. The first ones with the girls and I are ok. Then we took some with all of us and those were ok. But then we tried to get one with Bill and I and the boys and everything went downhill! The little ones were done and wanted their moms. Have you ever tried to hold on to a squirmy 18-month old?