080118 CKC August Kit Reveal\

Best dog days of summer images

Please give Cindy's Guest Designer, Doreen Vazquez, a warm welcome! 

Hi there! My name is Doreen. I go by Doreena online as sort of shout-out to my hubby who likes to call me Doreena. 

... I've been scrapping for approximately 20 years and though I have scrapped and still scrap mainly 12x12s I recently started dabbling in Travelers Notebooks, Pocket Pages, and Project Life; in fact this is the first year I've attempted Project Life and let me tell you...it's been a learning process!

 

I'm excited to be a Guest Designer for Counterfeit Kit Challenges and look forward to what the month brings us!

 

If you're interested you can find me on the following:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrs_david_vasquez/

Blogger: https://madijoes.blogspot.com/

Scrapbook.com: https://www.scrapbook.com/myplace/?login=1

 

Toodles!

You can read the rest of her bio on the CKC August reveal post.

 Now! Let's check out the inspiration kit!

Cocoa Daisy July 2018 "Twinkling of the Tea" Memory Keeping kit

Cocoa Daisy July 2018 "Twinkling of the Tea" Pocket kit

I'm loving the warm, lush, summery feel of this kit.

As I got my version together some photos came to mind to use.

Can't wait to get started! Let's open up the Magic Blue Box...

Here are the papers:

Hexagon unknown, orange 2011 Pebbles/Hip Hip Hooray "Yippee", daisy 2017 Carta Bella/Country Kitchen "My Garden", plus sign Felicity Jane/Emeline, floral Photoplay/Thinking of You "Have Faith", polka dot Felicity Jane, b/w floral 2017 Felicity Jane/London, multi-stripe unknown, b/w hexagon unknown (FJ?), dark floral Photoplay/Thinking of You "Be Brave", b/w circles 2017 Felicity Jane/Jane, brown wood October Afternoon, Public Library Card Catalog.

My bits came from a variety of sources. 2014 Thickers "Homestead" chipboard alphas, daisies are 2012 Michael's die cut note cards, 2011 American Crafts rosettes, 2017 Freckled Fawn chipboard stickers, washi tape & word wood chips, October Afternoon Daily Flash Photo Booth chipboard,  2013 Studio Calico vellum die cuts, Felicity Jane Caroline die cuts & rubber pieces, Felicity Jane London chipboard pieces, 2013 Jillibean Soup die cuts, 2017 Pink Fresh Dream On layered chipboard, 2014 Hampton Arts Studio G chalkboard die cuts. I'm sure that I've forgotten something!  

I DID forget to include these few items in the reveal: 

Here's the full hop list:

Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog -  http://counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.com/
Guest Designer – Doreen Vasquez  -  https://madijoes.blogspot.com/
Cindy - https://cindyscreations-cinmfoster.blogspot.com/
Julene - https://julenebydesign.blogspot.com/
Leslie - https://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com/
Lisa – https://lisahausmann.blogspot.com/
Tina - https://tinasscrapcorner.blogspot.com/
Laura - https://www.instagram.com/mrsp_scrapsandtea/

I also have a few forged goodies for you on the 4th, so don't forget to check in at CKC!

Thanks for stopping by!

080118 August Archi-scraps Challenge

Use this colour palette.

Isn't this refreshing? 

I spent a week at the seashore last month so I knew that would make this challenge a cinch.

We took a dolphin cruise off of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to celebrate my daughter's birthday.

I am making a mini-book of the entire trip but loved this photo of her on the boat.

I put together a little kit that I originally intended to use on the cover of my travel journal.

My thought was to use the TCW stencil & really bling it out - still may happen!

 My background paper is a real oldie - Paper Adventures/Artextures "Galaxy" from 2002!

Found this amazing poem about dolphins:

They move 

smooth curves like waves of sound, 

zinging through the tide, 

their whistle words pull like the moon 

to those they swim beside, 

to leap and plunge the sky of waves 

above their dark domain,

they keep in touch 

remembering a tune of dolphin names.

D is for Dolphin - Liz Brown Lee 

Clever how she made it in the shape of a dolphin!

Hope you are inspired by our challenge this month.

Make sure to share on the Mr. Linky!

Thanks for stopping by!

071218 CKC July Challenge #1

CKC Challenge #1: Forget-me-not!

We all have them - those tools and embellishments that get pushed to the side and are collecting dust. Pull out those forgotten tools and embellishments and put them to use - punches, brads, buttons, ribbon, rub-ons, dies or die cutting machines, etc. Show those forgotten items some love again!

I took Lori's challenge & broke out a couple of lonely punches. 

I used the flower punch for the firefly derrieres!

Another double challenge for me - Whimsical Musings #279, be inspired by catching something!

I ran across the photo in my current hunting, gathering, and sorting of all of my photos. 

It triggered a cascade of vivid childhood memories of visits to our cousin's farm. 

I was immediately transported to their cornfield, chasing fireflies in the twilight.  

Being suburban kids climbing in haylofts, riding on tractors & harvesting 

vegetables right out of the ground was high adventure!

I chose the Pink Fresh Studio's Dream On/Reverie constellation paper for my twilight sky. 

I had to do a stash dive for the 2003 dark green Free Letters paper by Wordsworth Stamps.
My forged PL card was bumped by the PinkFresh Life Noted perfect color puffy alphas.
 Simple but striking design, I think! The hardest part was finding a place for the journaling.

Lots more memories rising up as I go through my photos! Stay tuned...

Thanks for stopping by!

071018 CKC July Kit page 1

I've been working on a major organizational project for a few weeks - sorting my printed photos.

First came the hunting & gathering, then the decision on the catalog criteria.

Once sorted by era (ancestors, my life until living outside of my parental home, early married life before children, our family years, empty nest to current) I am attempting to put them in simple albums chronologically for now, but some stories are begging to be told.

This newspaper article surfaced at the same time the photo did,

so with my CKC July "Beautiful Maggie" counterfeit kit it was easy-peasy.

I chose the Webster's Pages "My Happy Place"/Sunshine paper as the story is a move to Florida.

 

I had a long story to tell so I slipped the clipping into an archival sleeve & treated it 

like a pocket page. My story was formatted to fit into the space on the reverse.

I left my original hand-written note on the back of the photo visible.

Journaling:  

Middle of my junior year of high school at Springbook my folks announced that the family was going to move to Florida… wow…

Daddy was tired of the snow & winter in general, ready to ease into life in the slow lane & out of real estate. I wish I had asked him more about it later in life.

By the time the house sold, I only had about six weeks of school left & begged to be allowed to stay and finish. I lived with Aunie & Bamma in the Connecticut Avenue apartment down in D.C. & drove the Vega back & forth to school in Maryland. 

Greg & I were already very serious & he was graduating from Gaithersburg High School that year. One evening he brought me back from a date. Before we entered the apartment I sang out, Everybody decent? No reply but just as we came into the foyer Bamma came out from her room, What did you say? Aunie had her undressed, ready for her bath but had gone to get bubble bath. Always the gentleman, Greg quickly averted his eyes & jumped back into the vestibule!

Congressman Chamberlain was retiring & a big party was planned aboard the presidential yacht U.S.S. Sequoia   I stayed home with Bamma & spent most of the evening repeating this conversation:         Bamma – I wonder where Ann is? I hope she’s alright. Me – She’s at Mr. Chamberlain’s retirement party. She’ll be home in a bit. Don’t worry.  Bamma – Well! That’s easy for you to say! You don’t have a daughter running around at all hours of the night!                                                                        

Bless her heart. She & Aunie would soon be following us to Florida.

Eleanor Harmon & I were to take the Auto Train to Florida the Monday after Greg’s senior prom held at the mall in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Aunie experienced one of my ultimate procrastination moments when Greg waited in the living room while I finished sewing my dress.

The following Monday we drove to the depot. Greg met us there to send me off & eventually Eleanor & I boarded the train.. Greg stayed on the platform. We tried to communicate through the window and then noticed that he had on two different socks.  He couldn’t understand what we were trying to say & took off each shoe & sock until he realized they were different.

At that moment the train started to move. I burst into tears & he began to trot down the platform after the train. Later we found out he got in the car and followed the train for miles. Worst day of my life.

That first summer in Florida found me up at all hours of the night writing endless letters “back home” to those I loved & missed.  I also learned more than I ever wanted to know about palmetto bugs – enormous roach-like insects that were unavoidable – namely that they fly.

It wasn’t all bad. I mean, we were only a couple of miles from the Juno Beach Pier. But my Maryland roots ran deep & I had left my heart back in Gaithersburg. It was really difficult to look forward to my high school senior year.

At the same time, Daddy really loved the shop & Mommy had met some nice friendly neighbors. Aunie & Bamma moved down to a Paradise Villa condo in North Palm Beach.

I graduated from North Palm Beach High School in 1975 & from Palm Beach Community College in December 1976 with an A.S. degree. Greg & I married a week later.

 

Thanks for stopping by!