Thursday, July 30th

Well I had an interview this afternoon, I think it went well, but it is so hard to tell. The people were nice, they said some time next week they will be doing call backs for a second interviews. So here is hoping I make the cut.

My first layout is one I did for the CT Challenge at Digi Scrapbook Mania and I really like how it came out. It is Tom, Mecca, Trey, Callie and Cole.

Next is another one I did for the same challenge. It is of my three babies. It was a challenge to get it to the point I was satisfied, I kept tinkering with it. That is my biggest problem when I'm not working a speed scrap, I can tinker forever.

Next is the last one I have done for the CT Challenge, not that I probably won't do another one or two tomorrow, but for the moment this is the last one. It is my baby Tucker, and I really liked how it came out. I'm trying to do each layout using different things, this one I used strips and I've still got to work on that a little, but for now I'm happy where I am.

Now one I did for a speed scrap. Part of the instructions were for a full blended picture. I like the idea, but I'm not sure I executed it as well as I could have. But it is a cute picture, so I'm happy with it.

And the last one for today is one of my final assignments for officer's training at Ginger Scraps. The lesson was on extractions and blending. They recommended the more natural elements and I don't lean towards these layouts, but I did one so I could complete the assignment. It's not bad, just not my style. And I was fun to do a different approach.

Ok that is it for today, tomorrow I need to work on a new blog background. So hopefully by next week, it will look a little different. Later gators...

Wednesday, July 29th

Still nothing on the job front, but I did a phone interview earlier this week and I have an interview tomorrow, so keep me in your prayers.

Three days in a row, I'm on a real roll now. I hope to be caught up by the end of this week, but right now I'm doing 2-4 pages a day, so if I don't post fairly often they back up quickly.

My first one is of Cole and is one of my entries for week three of the CT Challenge at Digi Scrapbook Mania. This kit is a collab kit called Funky Town and will be available in August in their store. I had to recolor Cole's shirt to match the kit, but I think it came out pretty good.

Next is another entry for the same challenge as above. I was using a template included in the kit. The photos are Callie and Mecca and Callie was messing with Mecca and they ended up wrestling like kids. In fact Sharla saw more of Callie than she really wanted because at one point her top dropped a tad low (no pictures of that!!!!)

Next is a speed scrap I did this week. The photo is Cooper taken a couple of years ago and I've always loved the photo because it looks like he is frowning in it. The SS was using simple elements and I thought it would be perfect for that photo.

The next is one of Callie I did for another speed scrap. It isn't very often that speed scraps are white space layouts, but this particular leader likes them, so I love doing SS with her. The photos are from a set taken several years ago at the old house.

The last one for today is Callie and Daddy taken when we were building the house. She and he always had fun together, and I can say with certainty I'm so glad we bought this house because it allowed her more time with him and that was a good thing.

Ok that is it for today, later......

Tuesday, July 28th

Two days in a row...I'm on a roll. I have lots of layouts to post so I'm going to try and post daily or every other day at a minimum. We'll see how good I get at it.

My first layout I did is the last layout from week 2 at Digi Scrapbook Mania CT Challenge. It was to represent "My Style", which I don't think I really have a style, but I do lean towards white space/clustering layouts so that is what I did. The picture is Sharla and Tucker that I took one day as they were playing on my bed. It is one of my favorites of the two of them together.


Next is my assignment for Survivor at Ginger Scraps, I used the CT Collab kit for week 3 at Digi, so I got 2 for one. I really like this kit, and you can find it at Digi Scrapbook Mania starting in August. The picture is one I took of Sharla at Joe's Crab Shack when were celebrating Mother's Day this year.

Next is a my week one challenge for Survivor. It is Callie at the beach in Nags Head. I told you, you would see that picture again. This time I used a couple of more to give it a different look. The kit is called A Day In Paradise and you can find it at the store on Ginger Scraps.

The next layout is one I did for a speed scrap. It required a full length picture and I found I had very few of those. I need to remember to take more in the future. This is Callie playing around kicking her heels together and Sharla trying very hard to get a picture of it. It was so funny to watch.

Now another speed scrap layout. It required me to use 6-10 photos, and I found these of the boys when we put Christmas outfits on them. As you can see from the pictures they were less than thrilled. I don't normally like layouts with lots of pictures, but I like this one.

Next is one I did of Cole on Joe's boat. He wasn't thrilled about having his photo taken, so in typical Cole style, he was just a little goofy. But hey I love him any way he is. He had a great time on the boat and would love to do it again.

That is it for today....later.

Monday, July 27th

Ok last week was a busy one scrapping. I had to finish up my officer's traning camp at Ginger Scraps and I also joined their Suvivor Challenge. Plus I had the CT Challenge at Digi Scrapbook Mania. I'm happy to say I get to move to the next round in both Survivor and the CT Challenge. Sharla is moving on is Survivor as well, but not in the CT Challenge. She is disappointed but not heartbroken. She had fun and that is what counts.

Ok on to some layouts. The first on I had a great time making, it is for immunity on the Suvivor challenge on Ginger Scraps and it is the ten things I need for survival. Sharla and I had a great time figuring out what we would want to include and taking pictures of the items.

Next is one of my CT challenge entries at Digi Scrapbook Mania. It is from week one, but I love it. I had lots of fun with that kit, it is called May Collab kit and you can get it at Digi Scrapbook Mania.

Next is the last of my week one entries and it is of Tucker Joe. I like it, but it is not one of my favorites. I think the blending shot needs to be different.

Now for my week 2 challenge entries. The kit for week two is A Mother's Love May Collab and is a great mix of pinks, reds, browns and greens. I had to do four differnt layouts, the first was a blending layout and I like this one much better than the earlier one of Tucker. It is Cole after our Mother's Day dinner. I wanted to show the kit could be used for boys as well.

The next challenge was to do a white space layout. I love white space layouts, right now I'm very drawn to them. I picked a picture of Callie taken just last weekend and paired it with a bright red paper (something about Callie screams red) and some simple flowers. I think it showcases her quite well, and shows her beauty.

Ok the third challenge was a cluster layout and I did a picture of Callie and Mecca from the night Callie graduated in TSTC. I like clustering layouts as well as white space ones. I really like this one.

That is it for today. I'll show you my 4th layout and others I made later in the week. Have a great one.

Thursday, July 23rd

Well still no word on the job, but I'm still praying for it. So let's all hope they call me this afternoon or tomorrow.

For my layouts let's start with Callie and Sharla. The photo is of Sharla trying to teach Callie how to do a cart wheel, but to me it looks like they are just being silly.

Next is one of Daddy, taken a couple of years ago at Christmas. I found this dark blue hat for him to wear when he went out onto the back porch to smoke. When he put it on, he looked like a rabbi. We teased him about it, but he loved the hat and scarf and wore them all the time.

Next is Sharla and Mecca on Joe's boat. We were sitting and talking to Patsy and I said I wanted a photo of them, and of course Mecca couldn't resist bunny earing Sharla...yeah she's one of us.

This layout I did for my Officers' Training, and the assignment was on blending. I really like how this one turned out. It is of irises from Argyle Acres.

Next is Callie and Cole. The photos are from years ago, taken at their old house. They were in that stage where getting them to sit next to each other was an accomplishment in itself...wait I think they are still in that stage.

And the last one for today is one of the layouts I did for the CT Challenge at Digi Scrapbook Mania. It is of Callie and the photo was taken at Thanksgiving or Christmas a couple of years ago.

That's it for now, more later......

Tuesday, July 21st

For those of you wondering about the job, I did send an email yesterday and they have had a hangup on their end and I am one of two still in the running. They didn't give me any idea of when the decision would be made but hopefully soon, so keep me in your prayers.

I am so excited about scrapping this month. I may have over extended myself, but I am in Officers' Training at Ginger Scraps and I have signed up for their Scrapping Survivor as well. And to top it off I am in a contest to be a CT for Digi Scrapbook Mania, so I have so much on my plate. What it does mean is that I should have lots and lots of layouts to post over the next couple of weeks. So let's get started.

The first one is of Cooper. It is from my Officers' Training last week. I learned about the burn and dodge tool. The example is on the ribbon and buckle, I used the tools to help it look like the ribbon was woven through the buckle. I think it worked really well.

The next layout is Callie and Sharla. The photos were taken years ago at Mom and Dad's house. They were acting silly on the couch and was stretching her arm way out to take the pictures.

The next one is Callie at the beach in Nags Head. Be prepared to see this photo again, because the Ginger Scraps survivor kit is a beach/paradise theme and I may just have to use it again (hehehe). I love the kit I used on this one, the colors are great and it makes me want to go to the beach.

Ok I think I'm on a Callie/Tucker phase I swear just about every layout last week was of one or the other of them. This one is Tucker laying on my blanket (and don't let Sharla tell you it is hers). We had been taking pictures of them wearing a Halloween costume of a saddle with a little man on it and a hat. But Tucker wasn't happy with that so he went over and snuggled into the blanket. I love how he wanted to sleep but was keeping his eyes on us to make sure we didn't try to put that stuff on him again.

Next is another one of Tucker that was one of my submissions for the CT Challenge last week at Digi Scrapbook Mania. The funny part is when the assignment came out for this week, they used several layouts as examples and this was one of them. I did it originally for a speed scrap and modified it slightly to submit. I really love the colors of the page and the black and white photo.

I know I normally stop at five but I have a backlog and am creating more, so I thought I would add a couple of more today. The next one is of my dad and his brothers. I love this photo and I used it on a word challenge where I had to create a layout around the theme of reunion. Didn't they all look handsome.

Lastly is the fastest layout I've ever done. I forgot about a speed scrap until about 20 minutes before time was up to post. Luckily it was an easy one, so I threw this together in about 10 minutes and my machine stalled. I did get it posted one minute after the deadline and the hostess was gracious to give me the participation price even though I was late. The photos are from our trip to North Carolina in 2007. I love the look of those rusted boats.

That is it for today. More later......

Tuesday, July 14th

Still no word on the job, so it is looking less and less like it was for me. :-( But I have faith that God is in control and he will lead me to the job he wants me to have when the time is right. I just like being in control, so it is hard for me to leave it in his hands.

On to happier subjects...layouts. I know I'm crazy, but I've signed up for a CT challenge (creative team) and a scrapping survivor challenge on another site, plus I am still in officers training. So I will probably have layouts out the wa-zoo over the next week or so.

The first one up for today is all the baby's on the 4th of July. We got shirts for the all and Sharla was just off camera with cheese to get them to pose. I think they look very very cute in their shirts.

The next layout is of hot air balloons from the Highland Village Balloon Show from a couple of years ago. I love the colors of this layout.

The next one is Callie and Mecca. The photo is from Thanksgiving weekend a couple of years ago. Pam and MawMaw were in town and Tom and Mecca ask Sharla and I to come over and take some family pictures. This one was after all the "formal" family shots, and I love the expressions on their faces.

Now for a Tucker layout. This one was done as part of a speed scrap and it is a white space layout. I find myself drawn to white space layouts a lot, but they are rarely part of a speed scrap. So this one I really like.

The next one I created as homework for my officer's training. I made the repeat word art as well as the title for the assignment. The picture is of my aunt Hazel and my cousin Hazelene. The photo is from the day of my daddy's funeral. It was such a hard time, but it was made easier by the warmth of family and friends that came to support us.

That is it for now...later.

Monday July 13th

It seems like ages since I posted here, but it really has only been a little over a week. For those following my job progress, still no job, had three interviews with one company, but since the decision was supposed to be made last week, and I've not heard anything. I'm guessing I'm out of the running. And it is a real bummer, I really wanted that job.

On to scrapbook layouts. I'm not been doing as many, I've become addicted to Farm Town on Facebook and have been busy doing other things. Don't get me wrong I still have quite a few to post, but I've not been doing 2-3 a day like last month. But since I haven't posted in a week I have a nice reserve to post here.

The first one is Callie at her old house. She was outside and Sharla started snapping photos. I love her expressions in these photos, she looks simply beautiful and luckily she is beautiful on the inside too.

The next one is from Cole's birthday in 2004 and it is of him covered in silly string. This was the first year he was really expecting us to silly string him, and he was so disappointed because he had a band concert at school and Sharla told him we were going to have to skip it because we couldn't do it before the concert because he was all dressed up and it would be too late afterwards. He was still young enough to believe her. We got him as he came out of the concert and as you can see, we had no mercy.

The next one is another Callie. When we were building our house we visited it every day to see the progress and she often came with us. I think she was very excited that we were moving closer to her. She decided she wanted our house to carry her favorite Bible verse, Psalms 62:2 on it, so she wrote it on the step in the garage. Of course she was writing it upside down, and so she left a letter out, but she fixed it. This is a couple of days later, her posing by her handy-work.

Next is Cole and Jake. He was playing with Jake and who can resist a picture of a boy with his dog. Especially if it is a cute boy with his dog.

Next is one I did of Tucker wearing his 4th of July shirt. He is not overly fond of shirts, but he is a good sport and will wear them. He was posing nicely because Sharla was feeding him cheese, and he'll sit nicely for cheese.

That's it for today, I'll try to post more regularly this week. I have several more layouts to post, plus I've signed up for a CT challenge and have to produce some for it. Later.....

Thursday July 2nd

I'm killing time before my interview at 8:00 am this morning. I'm so nervous, so I thought maybe doing something like this would settle my nerves. Everyone keep your fingers crossed that it goes well.

My first layout is of Sharla. It must be a Sharla week because I think I've done three or four already this week with her in them. I don't think she is all that happy about it, but tough tiddly winks. This photo was take on the 4th several years ago. The singles had met to have a picnic and then watch the fireworks. It is one of my favorite pictures of her.

The next one is of Callie and Mom. Callie had stopped by to visit, do laundry, pester us or something and she was really teasing Mom. I love her face as she is laughing in the photos and Mom's look of "oh Callie".

The next one is of Sharla again, but this time she is with Cole. It was Christmas morning and we had already open presents and he was "modeling" his yearly gift of boxer shorts. His version of modeling is to wear them on the outside of his clothes. She wanted a good picture of them together, but they ended up playing and I'm not sure I ever got a "good" photo, but I got some fun ones.

The next one is of Cole at the old house. He was riding around on Papa's scooter. I love the gloves he was wearing. It wasn't the fourth of July, but with the flag on the back of Daddy's scooter I couldn't resist using a red, white and blue kit.

The last one for this post is of Tucker. I like how the extraction came out on this one. I'm still learning that technique, but I'm getting better. I also like the colors of the kit I used.

That's it for now, got to go pace a little before my interview.