DLP unPlanner - June catch up

It seems that I am always a few months behind and am always playing catch-up! I can't believe that in a few days June will be over and we will be at the half-year mark for the unPlanner!

Here are June's PACs (Pocket Art Cards). This month I cut down a four-pocket protector to stack the cards vertically. I stitched (messy, yes) the right side closed and added paper and painted reinforcers to the spine.

Week 1's challenge was to pick a shape and repeat it. I chose some stenciled scrap paper with circles and enhanced the circle theme.

Week 2 we were to doodle a flower.  This card was left over from a few months ago when we were supposed to have someone else doodle on our card. My friend, Lynette, had graciously done two cards and I had saved this one. I added the large doodled flower.

Week 3's challenge was to use tissue paper. For this card (top) I covered the background with a "dirty" inky paper towel. The text strip is a torn piece of Christy Tomlinson's printed tissue paper.  I also stamped the butterfly and word "fly" on regular white tissue paper and glued them on. I love that the tissue paper disappears once it is dry. This is a great way to add stamping to textured surfaces.

For the fourth week we needed to incorporate watercolors. I used green and blues to create the background and then stamped and heat-embossed the quote. I matted the card on black card stock - very simple.

Before I left I shared my June monthly divider and monthly view calendar.  Below are the last 2 1/2 weeks of June.  I still have a few days' to fill in on the last week.

Here is my monthly pocket page. I used a two-pocket page protector. 

n the bottom pocket I finished up my Washington DC and Colorado memories. We went to the Holocaust Museum and everyone was given an ID card of someone who was in the camps. It made it very personal. I also added a portion of the brochure from the Library of Congress and two photos which hinge with washi tape. The bottom photo is from CO and the top one is the four of us saying goodbye in the Albquerque Airport at the end of the trip.

The top pocket holds photos and the movie ticket stubs from my week of babysitting in Austin.

The back pockets hold: photos from the reunion; Delta bag claim check; and, my favorite, a scrap that Drew (age 4) wrote his name on all by himself while we were in DC. This is my favorite part of the entire project - getting to keep random scraps and mementos together along with my calendar.

So, I think I am officially caught up! Now on to July!

I'm Back!

I've finally returned, at least for a few days! (Going to Albuquerque for the weekend to celebrate Drew's fourth birthday...)

I was in Vermont - my mom turned 88 on the 15th. She still lives alone and is going strong, having more energy most days than I do! We affectionately call her the energizer bunny.  My two brothers were there and we had a nice lobster dinner and strawberry shortcake (her tradition).

One reason I had gone was to attend my high school 50th reunion. Can't believe it's been that long! Class of 1966 had the largest class ever graduated from Stowe High at 30 students! Most of us had gone from kindergarten all the way through twelfth grade together. Sadly, seven have died, but we had a very nice turnout of about 20. We had a cocktail party at my best friend's house (she was 6 mos. old when I was born and we've known each other since) before all going to dinner together on Friday night. Saturday we had a meet-up at another local friend's house before the actual Alumni Banquet.

First Grade - 1954

Senior Year - 1966

2016

From there I flew directly back to Austin to babysit Carl and Mitchell for a week while Kelly and Josh were on a 7-day cruise.  They were so good, especially since they had never been away from their parents for that long. We had fun going to the movies and just playing together.  Mitchell is such a cute age right now (14 mos.) and Carl is just a hoot.

Other than the birthday party this weekend and an upcoming art retreat in mid-July, I'm hoping to be home for awhile and get back to creating!

DLP unPlanner - June

June Theme - Unraveling the Past: Embracing New Beginnings

Monthly Divider

For this month's divider I used the Bo Bunny June divider included in the kit and added kraft paper to the center portion of the front. I used the month calendar already printed on the back. The spine is covered with collage paper which I have continued throughout the planner. I used an "Art Pop" card from Robyn Marie Smith for a pocket for my tag which has the month's theme on it.

Weeks 1 and 2 - Weekly View Calendars

For June I printed all the weekly calendars on white card stock. For Week 1 I watercolored the background with a Distress marker. The dates are stamped on white paper squares and glued to half-circle collage paper stickers. Added some stamping, doodles, stickers and done!

I left Week 2 white but collaged bits of a floral napkin in some areas. The dates are written on pennants punched from the inside of a security envelope. I added some washi tape, stickers and stamping. Simple but done.

As you read this, I will be flying to Vermont for a week. My Mom's 88th birthday (Wednesday) coincided with my 50th (!!) high school reunion on Saturday so how could I not go - even though I'm still recuperating from our last trip! 

Then on Sunday I will fly directly to Austin to babysit my two grandsons for a week while their parents go on a cruise celebrating a friend's wedding.  So, this will be my last post for a few weeks...

DLP unPlanner - Monthly Pocket Picks

This month I combined my pockets for the PACs and my "monthly pocket picks."

This first photo shows the first two weeks' PACs in the top pockets and a DC postcard in the larger bottom pocket.

Front of page protector

Here are the last two week's PACs on top and ephemera from our US Capitol tours on the back of the postcard. I made a "flip" with two photos - one inside Congresswoman Grisham's office and one on the Capitol balcony - attaching with washi tape.

Back of page protector

Photo Flip

I used a second page protector without pockets and fused areas to fit my ephemera.

On the front I added some tags from some "happy mail," a shaker pocket with some shells from Florida, photos and bits and pieces from Orlando,  and our plane, train and subway tickets for DC.

Front of page protector

The back contains photos and a map of the National Mall in DC.  The map was long so I folded it in thirds and slit the side of the protector so it would fold up on the outside of the pocket. 

Back of protector with map folded

Here is the map unfolded (the back is attached to the ticket stubs).

And here is the back of the map covered with "under paper" and photos.

There was a lot to document this month and I'm happy to be caught up. Now on to June.

Catching Up... Documented Life unPlanner - May, Weeks 3, 4, 5

I've got a lot of catching up to do with my Documented Life unPlanner - several weeks' worth and many experiences to document!

May - Week 3

Weekly Calendar

List Ten - the prompt was to list ten songs that "make your feet move" but I changed it to my favorite songs (This is printed on the back of last week's "Dare 2B" card to save space.)

PAC: Art challenge - to use a circle sticker (I used three and embellished them. The background is made with Color Bursts.)

May - Week 4

Weekly Calendar (added a few photos from trip)

PAC: Art challenge - to incorporate favorite stamps

May - Week 5

Weekly Calendar (last two days of May)

This is only half a page (added to the back of a postcard).

Home Sweet Home

We're back from our "great American adventure" and I will attempt a short (?) recap here, focusing on photos.

We hosted our former Brazilian exchange student's sister and her husband for 2 1/2 weeks, touring several areas of the US with them. Of course, their top priority was visiting the Orlando theme parks so we started there.

After dropping Jo and Igor off at Universal Studios, we headed to The Villages about an hour away to spend a few days with friends.

Since our condo had an extra bedroom, Kelly, Josh and the boys joined us for three days.  We went to Cocoa Beach for two days and the boys loved the sand and surf! It was Mitchell's first time at the ocean.

Six days later we flew to Baltimore and took the train to Washington, DC.  We rented a lovely house within the city and John, Dana and their boys joined us for the week. We saw many of the iconic landmarks and museums.  John's aunt is a NM Congresswoman so we were treated to several "behind the scenes" tours of the White House, Library of Congress, US Capitol, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

Drew's favorite part of the trip was riding the subway. Grant not so much!

The boys were troopers, except for a few one-year-old meltdowns!

One week later we flew to Albuquerque, spending the night with Dana and John, and then driving up to Buena Vista, Colorado to visit Bill's 91-year-old aunt and show Jo and Igor the mountains. There was still snow on the mountain-tops which amazed the Brazilians!

Three days later we parted ways at the Albuquerque Airport. Jo and Igor flew back to Brazil via Orlando and we returned home.

Whew! It was a whirlwind trip full of great experiences, fun times with family and friends and wonderful memories to last a lifetime. Now back to the real world...