Nancy Wethington

OMG look at this . . .

table runner made from black and white photos:

see more here:

http://beautifulpaper.typepad.com/oh_so_beautiful_paper/2010/03/urban-wed-event-wedding-details.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OhSoBeautifulPaper+%28Oh+So+Beautiful+Paper%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Meet Tank . . .

 

with his Uncle Buck:

 

Always learning . . .

Had a great time at FKS last night taking one of Vicki's classes.  I love her style and her attention to detail is amazing.  Can't wait to take her next class.

Stacey and I were walking around the store yesterday (shopping, of course) and decided (an epiphany of sorts) that we probably had enough paper but that what we were really going to start collecting is dimensional elements.  That's what Vicki uses a ton of on her tags and such.  That's one thing that makes them look so amazing.

When I look at the layouts others have done, the pages I love always are loaded with dimension.  It all makes sense to the photo and is almost always gathered around the photo (or at least to one side of it).  That's my goal.

I'm not quite there yet, but as the old saying goes "practice makes perfect".  My little (!) collection of ephemera will grow so that I can add dimension.

Still working on anniversary pages - this time on our 25th anniversary dinner - again at Bevo Mill.  Most of the embellishments I used are from a packet that K&Co designed.  I got them at FKS.  This packet is loaded with fabulous ephemera.  Adorable birds.  Beautiful flowers.  Blingy. Detailed.

Now off to practice my *art* more and then sending things over to FKS for the garage sale tomorrow.  I have over 180 things for sale.  Don't miss my table!  Stampers - LOTS of stamps either barely used or brand new - and all for $3 or under - in lots.  No kidding.  Go shop.

PS: OK, so I bought a few pieces of paper but that's another story for another day.
 
 

More from our anniversary album . . .

Someone clearly was done with the party!

Love this little piece of ephemera I found that says

"Dr. Hand's Remedies for Children".

Makes me wanna go "hmmm".

 

 

Trying to gather up all the things I want to add to my page

in one place.

Love the way that looks when done right.

Obviously, I'm still in practice mode.

 

Think this works best when scrapping one photo.

I "weed out" my photos but still need to put more than 1 photo on a page.

Back to the practice board.

 

22 years ago . . .

we celebrated our 15th anniversary.  Mom & Dad along with Bill's Mom & Dad and my Grandma (and Beau who was 2.5 years at the time) took us to Bevo Mill for dinner.  Bevo Mill is a landmark restaurant in south St. Louis and the place where we had our rehearsal dinner.  So it's a special place for us. 

History inserted here:  Bevo Mill is also a place where August Busch Jr (founder of Anheuser-Busch Inc and creator of Bevo Mill) spent most of his lunches.  There is a very beautiful yet small rotunda in the Bevo Mill that was the private dining room of Mr. Busch.  There you can find the same carved gnomes that grace many of the buildings at Anheuser-Busch.  (Sorry In-Bev, it will always be Anheuser-Busch to me.)  You can read more about this remarkable building here: http://www.thebevomill.com/index.php

Back to my story: After dinner, Mom & Dad suggested we go downstairs to the bar area for a cocktail. Once at the bottom of the stairs, we found our friends were throwing us a surprise anniversary party!

Just found those photos and decided to create a mini-scrapbook (8x8) to commemorate both our 15th anniversary surprise party and our 25th anniversary. 

As you may have read before, I'm getting back into traditional scrapbooking and telling my stories.  But after randomly doing mini-books with no real purpose (just because books), I'm having a hard time with ideas. 

Enter Timi, one of the owners of For Keeps Sake (along with Nancy N).  She does really beautiful work and has almost exclusively completed traditional scrapbook pages.  She has a great design eye and can put together pages in no time flat.

Visit For Keeps Sake for inspiration and to see some of Timi's work. 
 
 

No photos? No problem . . .

My previous post concentrated on how important it was for me to scrapbook the stories and memories.  Everything I see in scrapbook magazines and books concentrates on scrapbooking with photos.  But what if you don't have photos of a particular memory or event? 

With all the paper and embellishments I've amassed over the years, I say "no problem". 

When Beau and my nieces and nephew were very young we would gather the day after Thanksgiving with all the sugared up candy I could find and create gingerbread houses.  Each one had their own house to put together and decorate.  Composed of graham crackers and royal icing these gingerbread houses were a sight to behold.  Frosting and candy up to their elbows.

And no photos.  Don't know why, but none.  Which makes me kind of sad except that it didn't stop me from recreating the moment on a page layout.  I'll share but please remember I did this layout about 6 or 7 years ago (as you'll be able to tell from the paper I used)!

 

I love to play with paper and if you're reading this blog, my guess is that you do too.  As collectors of ephemera, paper and stories, don't let the lack of photos stop you from recreating a moment in time you want to remember.  Scrap your stories.

 

Scrapbook Your Stories . . .

This post is a reminder for me of why I should scrapbook

or journal

or whatever you want to name it . . .

I haven't been scrapbooking very much lately.  Mostly just making blank travel journals or cards.

But I'm making a conscious decision to change that and get back to my scrapbooking roots.

This post is dedicated to Margie.

Someone I love very much.  Someone who is an integral part of my life.

Margie is 85 years old.

By the time Margie was 6 (or maybe 7) she lost both of her parents.

My Grandma (Margie's mother's sister i.e., Margie's aunt) took Margie in

and raised her with my Mother - essentially having two daughters instead of just one.

The house was a duplex.

Full of relatives - all from Spain (Asturias and Barcelona to be exact).

On one side lived my

Great-Aunt and Great Uncle + one of their brothers + one of their sisters + their daughter

On the other side lived my

Grandma and Grandpa + two of my Grandma's brothers + my Mom + Margie.

A very long covered porch at the back of the house connected the two duplexes.

And this is how they grew up.

Surrounded by family.

I know for a fact the floor boards on that porch were worn from foot traffic between the two duplexes.  Once the girls (Margie and my Mom) were married, almost every Sunday and definitely every holiday, we would gather with family (including cousins) and share cocktails, stories and photos.  It was a great time to gather - noon on Sunday - and we rarely missed a week.

Margie was an integral part of this family.  And Margie was the one through the years that we relied on to remember the workings of all the distant relatives - who was related to whom - who married who - what were they doing - where were they living - all those things families talk about when they get together.  When Mom and I would talk on the phone and try to remember something about the family, inevitably our conversation would end with "I'll call Margie.  She'll remember."

Except for the fact that currently Margie resides in a care home.  with her enemy - Alzheimer's.  And doesn't remember.  We have to remind her who we are.  And it's so sad to see our Margie like this.  It breaks my heart.

We visited Margie just this weekend.

I'm not sure she knew who we were or recognized all of us.  I'd like to think she did, but if you know of someone with this disease, you know exactly what I mean.

We sat and talked and I told her a story of a time when Chris (her daughter) and I were shopping in Madrid for shoes.  It was a funny story.  We all laughed and whenever I said Chris' name, Margie's eyes sparkled.  A glimmer of hope.

When we left that day, I bent down to give her a kiss and Margie said "I love you".  I can only hope she said that because she remembered who I was.

Driving home and realizing how many people are struck by this terrible disease . . .

knowing that memories fade (whether we have Alzheimer's, dementia or just plain forgetfulness). . .

it's a reason to write down the stories . . .

And perhaps when the memory fades . . .

or a blank stare appears . . .

someone will pull out your scrapbook and read your story . . .

and a memory will waltz in . . .

and a glimmer of hope will light up someone's eyes

even if only for a moment.

I love you too, Margie.

Wednesday's Class

March 24

6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Easter Canvas Class

 

 

Reservations required.

Here's the original post about this class:

http://art-from-the-heart.typepad.com/art_from_the_heart/2010/02/new-class-on-the-books-.html

and here's what we'll be using in class:

 

• Basic supplies
• Precision scissors please (if you have them) as we'll be doing some fussy cuts
• Light brown Distress Inks for edges (i.e., antique linen or similar)
• glue dots
• Glossy Accents
• Dabbers: Juniper and Pool
• Copic Markers in the following colors:

0 (colorless blender)

Y21

YR24

E99

Y02

YG11

YG63

YG93

BG10

B95

B34

Clear Copic Spica Pen

 

The colors above are what I used in my sample.

Close counts if you have similar colors

or purchase yours for the everyday low price of only

$4.99 at For Keeps Sake

Take this class ($20)

and learn

color blending with Copics!

 

Sign up @ For Keeps Sake

(314) 487-8131

 

 

 

180 pieces . . .

labeled and ready for the garage sale @ For Keeps Sake Scrapbook.  I don't remember pricing anything over $3 . . . seriously . . . this stuff is priced to go.  And if it was priced at $3, it was probably a set of 4 or more rubber or acrylic stamps.

All piled up

ready to take to FKS

so next week I can concentrate on cleaning my house

before my Armadillo Babes come over.

I'm going to try to fool them into thinking my house is always clean. HA!

We've been friends since before we were married.

For now, I've torn up the basement craft room studio to get things ready for the sale.

And by the way, I've decided not to take my Frozen Charlottes to the sale. 

I'm really afraid they would break in the shopping frenzy.

If you're interested in purchasing any Frozen Charlottes, please e-mail me privately.

I have, however, added cigar boxes for $1 to the sale items.  Great shapes!

Thank you!

Now for cleaning up this mess I've made before the party starts next Saturday night!

 
Photos and such courtesy The Graphics Fairy.

 

Happy St. Paddy's Day . . .

to my own Irish man and his buddies

and all my Irish friends.

Love you Beau.

We are so lucky to have you in our lives.

Don't party too hard.

Have a designated driver.

Enjoy the Parade!

 

Image from

http://greenpaper.typepad.com/green/