DLP unplanner 2016 - First Week of October

October Theme: A Fresh Start - Clear Your Palette

For October's theme (clearing your palette), I thought I would try to change up my color palette. I usually favor pinks, blues and turquoise, so this month I'm going for more warm colors. They fit the season as well!

Here is my October divider - very simple using some portions of a Bo Bunny October paper, a piece of a kraft file folder and a Dymo label maker for the theme. I didn't use my usual pocket with a tag for the theme - I'm getting a fresh start!

I added the monthly calendar on the back, swiping some watercolors through the days and splattering a darker orange paint.

For the first week's page I used the stamps from the DLP kit - just love those and they are still available separately here. I sprayed a mustard Heidi Swapp spray ink through a floral stencil for the background and added some papers and stickers.

The PAC challenge for the first week was to hide something under your art.  We've recently had some sad news that Sara's fiancé (together for 4 years and engaged for 2) just broke up with her. Long story and devastating to us all. So I wrote out some of my feelings on a pre-painted card, then covered with more paint, marks and a Dina Wakley stamp.  I took photos of before and after - notice I rev erred to my usual color palette!

before

after

Recap of DLP September

Catching up on posting the last few weeks' of September's DLP pages.

Fourth Week

I scraped pink and yellow acrylic paints on kraft background, then stenciled the large flowers with yellow paint. The centers of the flowers are messy-painted circle flowers. I used up many random bits and pieces on this page.

Fifth Week

For this background is dry-brushed some white paint lightly and then stenciled the harlequin design with yellow paint. The owls were cut from an old sticky note.

Back of Fifth Week Page

Because there was an extra week in Sept., I was left with a blank page. I glued on some artist paper from the DLP gals (love, love, love this paper) and then added one of Roben Marie Smith's journaling cards to summarize the month - quick and easy.

This is the last week's PAC. The challenge was to use stripes.  When I was thinking about this challenge, I was watching an Illustrated Faith video by Shanna Noel. She was sketching a girl similar to those of Beth Cupitt (also of IF).  I decided to try my hand at it and sketched this girl on watercolor paper. After watercoloring her, I cut her out and glued her to this pretty scrapbook paper which had little tick marks on it, a kind of stripe. I attached a small piece of IF printed acetate and sewed around the card with pink thread. Love it!

And, finally, the Monthly Pocket Picks!

I love doing these. They are part scrapbook, part pocket page, and part cleaning up the bits and pieces I've saved over the month! I used my Fuse tool which I had purchased especially for this project.

I used a black tag again - love the look of photos and white writing on the black.  One fun thing I did - I had an extra space on the page so make a shaker with all the colorful circles left over from punching holes in the spines of my pages through the entire year to date! 

Front

Some of the items I added this month: photos of happy mail (orders and swaps), a movie ticket stub, a card and pin from the Pinners Conference in Dallas, photos from camping in Bandolier and the boys in Albuquerque, and a ticket and photo of the Children's Aquarium where I took Carl and Mitchell while I was babysitting earlier in the month to pet and feed the stingrays.  Love the memories!

Back

Family Camping and Hiking

Last weekend our entire family met in Albuquerque and went to Bandelier National Monument to hike and camp. It was to celebrate my husband's 70th birthday and my son's 40th birthday, both of which were earlier in the summer.

A little back story: My husband goes to Albuquerque every fall and hikes the La Luz Trail up Sandia Mountain. It's a rigorous hike and he calls it his "proof of life" hike. Our kids decided that he shouldn't be doing this alone any longer and everyone agreed to accompany him this year as part of his birthday celebration. They did that on Sunday, but since we were all together, we went camping Friday night in Bandelier.

The little boys all enjoyed being in the mountains. It was Carl's and Mitchell's first camping experience and they loved it, especially the tent, the campfire and the s'mores!  Being Texas boys, they were not used to the cold (temps dropped about 35 degrees over night) but it warmed up when the sun rose.  We hiked from our campsite to the ruins - approximately 4 miles, some of which was tricky switchbacks, and the older boys were troopers (the little guys rode in backpacks and slept mosts of the way). We had gorgeous weather - a nice respite from the Texas heat.

Here's a little glimpse of our adventures.

setting up tents with a lot of "help"

Dana and John, Drew and Grant

Kelly and Josh, Carl and Mitchell

at the end of the trail

in camp

Grant and Mitchell

s'mores!

Grant and Mitchell exploring

Carl and Mitchell exploring

goofballs!

this was supposed to be their "best" smiles