Everyone loved the layouts that I did for my grandfather's memorial service. I was asked to do a layout for my Great Aunt Helen and her husband Arthur. Art is the only one of m grandfather's siblings that is still alive. They celebrated their 57th Anniversary the week before my grandfather died. The photo of them together is from my grandfather's memorial service and the bottom photo is their wedding party. I used Tink's Tying the Knot kit, available at Digitals, to created this layout. It's great to celebrate a life lived together.

This photo of my grandparents was shared with me by my mother. I loved the photo and felt that I had to do something with it. I used the Virtual Painter, Oil Painting filter to get the painting look on the larger version. The background is a paper from Tink's Orange Spice kit, available at Digitals. The page was recolored to look like the dining room wall. The frame is from PSP X.

Grandfather

Today is the day of my grandfather's funeral. I cannot be there physially, but I will be there in spirit. In memory of you PaPa.

A Few More for Grandpa

Did up a few more layouts this morning .. Thought I would share.

In Memorium

The layouts completed today were done in memory of my Grandfather who passed away, peacefully, yesterday at the age of 76. He was a great man and I will miss him dearly. I have not seen him in more than 3 years and I am truly sorry for that. He was always there for me when I needed him. No matter what I was doing in life, I could count on him to be there on those important days.
This first layout was created using a background paper from Veronica Culley's Simplicity Duos Purple kit, available at Digitals. I also used a paper from Glenda Ketcham's Sibby Goes to Kindergarten kit to create his name. The graphics used were obtained from Elder High School in Cincinnati Ohio, where my grandfather graduated from many years ago. The wordart phrases used on this layout are from many different designers, obtained mostly from 1HourScrap.
This second layout was done using a quick page. I have searched all through my files and can't figure out where I got it from .. I can't find the original quick page on my computer anywhere now. The font that I used is Gracey's Curse. The wordart was created by Sue Jones for the July It's Only Words challenge at Digitals. I had "fun" adding the pictures to this page. It was neat to see all of the old photos.
The third layout I created for his memorial is also a quick page. The wordart is from the daily download at 1HourScrap. I can't figure out where the quick page came from .. that seems to be a trend today. I love this photo though. It is of my grandfather with my nephews last summer. It saddens me though, because I know that I do not have any pictures of him with my own children.
The third layout from this morning is a great example of how my grandfather was always there for me. These two photos were taken when I graduated from college and on the day I got commissioned as an Army Officer. He supported me in everything that I did. I will truly miss him.
This layout is my favorite out of the ones that I have done for him. I love the way that it turned out. I used Lori Imel's Classic Black and White kit to create the layout. My grandfather was one of the biggest Elder High School fans that I have ever met. I remember times when I was younger when we would walk over to "The Pit" as their stadium was known, to see what was going on because we saw the lights on from our house. Friday nights were spent there cheering on "The Pride of Price Hill" while I was growing up. I returned home from college on friday nights to attend football games with him. The photo on this layout is his Elder High School Senior Portrait.

I cannot take credit for this next layout. I was having a really hard time coming up with something for this gorgeous photo. I asked Lori for some advice and input. When I couldn't do it I asked her to help me out. She graciously agreed and did up this wonderful layout.
This is my final layout today. I am headed to bed in a few minutes. I couldn't come up with anything for the color photo of my grandfather in the Army. But I had better luck with the black and white version. For this layout I used the Army Of One kit from Cristy Sturm at Butternug Squash Designs. The wordart was from there also and is free.
I hope you have enjoyed looking at the layouts that I am doing to remember my grandfather. A few more will probably be done tomorrow.

Relaxing by the Water

This month I am concentrating on creating layouts of my grandparents. My grandfather is in the hospital dying and I want to create as many loving memories of him as possible. Their 51st Wedding Anniversary is coming up this Sunday, August 13th. I hope to have some great layouts done for them to cherish. This particular layout is the second in a series of layouts from their vacation in Hawaii in 1998. They went to Hawaii for their anniversary. For this layout I used Maddy Fernandez's Of Sand and Sea kit. I also used some elements from the add-on pkg for the same kit. Both are available at Digitals. The fonts that I used for this layout are mandngo and milk & cookies. Both can be downloaded here. Let me know what you think of the layouts .. I LOVE comments. :)

Movie Night

This layout is my submission for the August Me, My, Mine challenge at Digitals. It completes the challenges for August. I got all 13 of them done in record time. Would have had them done on the 4th, but didn't have any August photos, and the Me, My, Mine challenge has to be done for an event during the current month.
Anyway ... for this layout I used Lori Imel's newest kit, Classic Black & White, availble only at Digitals. The fonts are Ravenscraft, Rage Italic and Eras Bold ITC.
We took the boys to see Superman Returns last night at the theater here on post. It was the first time that BJ and Cody had ever been to a movie theater. Andrew went a few years ago with Mitch to see Shrek 2. The boys did pretty well last night considering the movie started right before bedtime. They all stayed awake through the entire movie and were relatively well behaved. They were quiet through the whole movie, can't say they sat still, but there was enough room inbetween the rows that they could move between Mitch and I without bothering anyone else. And, they only spilled the bag of popcorn once.

Another Productive Day

I am quite proud of myself today. I got a lot accomplished. I finised 5 layouts, which leaves me with just one more layout to complete and I will be done with the challenges this month at Digitals. I'm on a rool, because today is only the 4th day of the month. I took on another roll today at Digitals, I became a member of their 1st Responder Team. Looking forward to doing that job. Anyway, now for today's layouts.

This layout was done for the Designer Elements challenge at Digitals. This month's challenge was hosted by Sophia Davies. As per my norm, I did a 4x6 recipe card. The fonts I used are Ravie and Rage Italic.
The recipe is as follows:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
7 cups sliced peaches
2 Tbsp honey
2/3 cup coarsely crushed graham crackers (5 squares)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp rolled oats
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter


Preheat oven to 375*F. For filling, in a bowl stir together granulated sugar, the 2 Tablespoons flour and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Add peaches; toss to coat. Spread in 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Drizzle honey over peaches; set aside.
For topping, in a bowl stir together crushed graham crackers, brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour, rolled oats, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping evenly over the peach mixture.
Bake, uncovered, for 40 to 45 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream.
Makes 8 servings.


Each serving without ice cream:
306 calories, 8 grams fat (5 grams sat. fat), 20 mg cholesterol, 101 mg sodium, 58 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fiber, 2 grams protein.
Daily Values: 21% Vitamin A, 17% Vitamin C, 3% calcium and 7% iron.

The second layout was done for the Picture This challenge at Digitals. My kids LOVE to swim .. and this day was no different .. LOL
For this layout I used background paper and mattes from Christy Sturm's Pool Water kit, availble at ButternugSquash.
The elements are from Christine Schultz's Pool Party Kit, available at Digitals.
The font I used for the date is Rage Italic.

The third layout was done for the All About Me Photo Challenge at Digitals. The challenge this month was to scrap about our favorite moment from school.
I used Lori Imel's new kit .. Classic Black and White. Font is Rage Italic.

This last layout was done for the August Scraplift Challenge. For this layout I used Maddy Fernandez's Of Sand & Sea Kit. Fonts are Gracey's Curse and Rage Italic. For this challenge we scraplifted a layout of Sophia Davies'. I love this photo of my Grandparents on their Anniversary in 1998 in Hawaii. More layouts from this trip to follow.
The last layout that I did today was for the Scripture Challenge at Digitals. I used a photo of my grandfather that was taken in the hospital last week. I will not be posting it here. It is posted in my gallery at digitals, if you want to see it you can visit there.
Thanks for reading. More to come tomorrow, I'm sure.

More Challenges mean More Layouts

I did this first layout at the request of my mother. She wanted something new to hang in my grandfather's hospital room. She really liked the 12x12 layout that I did for the challenge at Digitals, but that's not easy to print or hang. So, she requested an 8x10 layout that she could order and frame for in his room. I know he probably won't get to see it, because of the sedation, but she will show it to him, and everyone else who enters the room will get to see it. I hope things get better there soon, whatever better is. For this layout I used a few different kits. The elements are from Tink's Tying the Knot kit, available at Digitals. The purple matte is from a background in Glenda Ketcham's kit, Sibby Goes to Kindergarten. The wordart is from Gayle Richter's Quote Overlays, available at DigiScrapIt. The background image is from Suzanne Walker's Wedding Whimsy Kit, an old freebie from DSP.
The tag says
Jean & Norb Briede
"Together Forever"
August 13, 1955
Golden Anniversary
August 13, 2005


This second layout was done as part of the Let's Get Sketchy challenge at The Digi Dreamer .. and also for the Font Free 4 All challenge at Digitals. For this layout I used Maddy Fernandez's kit, A Walk on the Wild Side, available at Digitals. Journaling states that we found this Rock Wall at the end of our street the other day while we were teaching Andrew to ride his bike. The boys fell in love with it the minute that they saw it. They ran over to me, after jumping off their bikes, Look Mommy, Look! I didn't let them climb it, not yet anyway. But, I'm sure that when they do it will provide me with a great opportunity for more photos. Fonts are Rackham Italic, the challenge font, and Rage Italic.


The third layout from yesterday was created for the It's Elementary challenge at Digitals. For this layout I used Veronica Culley's Simplicity Duos Purple kit and the elements provided for the challenge.Butterfly Border by Jen Maceyunas (recolored)Fun Slide by Jolene ShafferSummer word by Karin McCombesButterfly by Michelle Hessler (recolored)Fonts are Scrap Cirlces and Scrap Katie. I love the photos in this layout. Andrew has absolutely no fear and he loves to try new things. Here, he was running up to the pool, jumping, and basically flying into the pool. It was so fun to watch him do it over and over again. I tried to catch him completely in mid air, but the battery on the camera would not cooperate.

This third layout was created for the It's Only Words challenge, and as a gift for our neighbor. A second layout with photos from his birthday. For this layout I used Jaime Conn's kit, Games People Play, available at Digitals. The wordart was provided for the challenge by Sue Jones.

August Challenges @ Digitals

It's Challenge time again at Digitals. I thuroughly enjoy completing the monthly challenges there. It gives me the motivation that I often need to get layouts done, and it also gives me some ideas. I work best with a goal to meet. Today is the second day of the challenges and I've already gotten 3 layouts completed. The first layout that I completed and posted was for the Sketchy Details Challenge. For this layout I used the Fresh as a Daisy kit by Tink (c) Andika Designs. The fonts that I used in this layout are Scriptina, Rage Italic & PS Bluegum Forest. The photos are from my grandparents' 50th Wedding Anniversary. I was not able to be there for the celebration, but I am going to do my best to make up some memorable layouts for them.
The second layout that I completed was for the He Said, She Said challenge. For this layout I used the Strength of a Father kit by Eugenia Bacon. The font I used is Scrap Katie. I love these pictures. I took them last month while the boys and I were exploring the outdoor exibits at the 1AD Museum here in Baumholder, Germany. The boys had a grand time exploring the tanks and the other military gear there.

My 3rd layout for today was done for the Captivated by Colour Challenge. I used Glenda Ketcham's kit, Sibby Goes to Kindergarten (redone). The font that I used is Rage Italic. I really enjoyed putting this layout together. I love the vibrant colors used in this kit. Glenda did a fantastic job creating this one. A good buy at any cost.