Black and White

First, a profound thought. I found out something interesting about trees the other day. Dh told me that you could plant two identical trees in two different spots - one windy, one not windy. The tree that grows in the windy spot is going to grow faster, thicker and stronger than the tree that is in a sheltered spot. I think perhaps it works this way with some humans too. Barbara's comment on my blog post from yesterday got me thinking about this - she said I seemed like a very strong woman. I have certainly never thought of myself that way, and actually, I don't think I was born that way. But I think that with all the wind that's been blowing my way these last few years, I've managed to grow stronger rather than snap. It's good to know that no one will be using me as firewood anytime soon!

Ok, now for the fun stuff. I had the most ideal, fun afternoon on Thanksgiving Monday. I rotated between my ironing board, the Sens-New Jersey hockey game on tv, and my scrap room. It's probably a given that all of you can really understand why the scrapbooking part was fun. Some of you may even understand why the hockey part was fun (especially considering the extra bonus of a 4-2 win - my Sens are so far undefeated!). Most of you are likely wondering why the heck the ironing part was fun. Well let me tell you, when I can get all of my ironing done in one fell swoop and it doesn't sit there looming at me all week, I am one happy gal, and I can enjoy all of the other fun stuff guilt-free.

I have been busy creating cards lately, with the odd All About Me layout thrown in, but yesterday what I really wanted to do was get back to scrapbooking basics - layouts for our chronological family albums. I also really wanted to dig into some of my paper stash. A few months ago I attended a friend's wedding, and her wedding colours were black and white - very chic. So next time I was shopping and I saw some gorgeous black and white papers by Rouge de Garance and Luxe Designs, I knew they were coming home with me. Yesterday, I finally got to use them. Both of these layouts feature pictures taken at the aforementioned wedding.


A Reluctant Charmer

Cardstock - Bazzill
Patterened Paper - Cupidon No. 6 by Rouge de Garance
Flowers: Prima, Bazzill, K& Co, $ Store
Leaves: Garage sale find
Gem Brads: Making Memories
Other Brads: Unknown (could be Bazzill, could be MM)
Parentheses Brads: Around the Block
Rub-on title: Bohemia Transfer Titles by My Mind's Eye
Rub-on alphas: Mini-marks (ned jr.) by American Crafts


The Fab 4

Cardstock: Unknown
Patterned Paper: Classic Black by Luxe Designs
Pink Flower: Bazzill
Clear Flowers: Clears by Making Memories
Pearl Spray: Unknown - cut them off a decorated baptism candle!!
Pewter Flower: Making Memories
Pewter Photo Corner: $ Store
Pewter Brads: Making Memories
Pink Word Tabs: Tailored Tabs by Scrapworks
Ghost Letters (fab): Heidi Swapp
The Number 4: Thickers
Rub-on alphas: Mini-marks by American Crafts

It felt so good to be creating layouts again! And not only did I get to use up some old stash, but I also got to use brand new stash ... those transparent flowers are my most recent purchase, last Friday night to be exact. Fun. Very Fun. And cool. Very cool.