537 layouts

Last week I brought all the layouts that were stacked in piles on a shelf in my scrapspace upstairs...and all my empty albums... and every single page protector I could scrounge up.

As I sorted the layouts into stacks for the appropriate albums, I counted them.
I had 537 layouts sitting on my shelf, not in albums.
This is not good.

I got about 400 of those layouts put away! I was amazed at how many page protectors I was able to scrounge up (new albums, a couple of open packages, loose pages at the ends of existing albums) but now I'm out of albums and page protectors.... I filled in space in a bunch of existing albums plus filled several independent new albums.

Put away in my scrapbook storage armoire.
Currently holding:
54 12x12 albums
8 8x8 albums
2 8.5 x 11 albums

I am going to need some more albums, soon.... and I'm going to have to find a new home for my 8x8 and 8.5x11 albums to make room for those!

But it's  pretty amazing feeling seeing all those filled albums!

Waldo Canyon Fire Update

As you almost certainly know, our beloved city of Colorado Springs is in the midst of a firestorm.

The Waldo Canyon fire has destroyed hundreds of homes and displaced tens of thousands of residents. It is very dry and very hot and very windy, and the fire continues to spread. It has been ~5% contained for days. "Erratic" wind conditions continue to fan the flames and spread the destruction. "I hate wind ... Wind is big factor in how we do this fire. It won't stay in the same place. The winds keep shifting on us." -- Incident Commander Rich Harve


But... on the positive side. No casualties have been reported.  Over a 1,000 brave men and women are battling the blaze. And the city has experienced an outpouring of generosity. Yesterday I watched a multi-block long line of cars waiting to make donations at the local Food bank. I attended a prayer meeting at my church and felt the strength of our community. We will survive this.

The fire is centered on the west side of the city and my family and I are on the EAST side. We are safe.



So what can you do?
*PRAY. Pray for our displaced community. Pray for rain. Pray for the firefighters. Pray for the people at the shelters. PRAY. And know that we aren't alone. Pray for all the victims of all the fires raging across the Colorado and the West.

* Make a donation to the Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/

*If you're local, please see http://www.gazette.com/articles/evacuees-140905-fire-peak.html


 Bless you, all -- Merrick

Oh Give Me a Home...

Here's a quick layout for you --

A little Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934 (from a 6x6 pad), some washi, a BG trim, some goodies cut with my Silhouette... a little Mr. Huey, A Martha Christmas Paperclip... and the antelope... They live nearby and we see them frequently.

Circus photos, as promised

So, on Friday night we went to the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Dragons Circus and boy did we ever have a good time!

It was Scout night at the Circus, so we got to see an extra special animal trainers show, and then visit the circus preshow!

The Little Guy was so excited! (See his newly missing tooth?)

 We got to meet performers, try on sparkly costumes, meet lots of clowns! and see fun preshows!

And then, of course, there was the circus itself!

The Circus was definitely a HIT!

Project 12 May!

And this one is for May, so it's not even late at all! I'm back on track with my third year of P12!

For May's Layout I started with this 2 pager from Page Maps, Sep 2011

As previously mentioned, I'm not a big banner girl.. so I didthed that. And I changed some other stuff around... quite a bit.

And came up with this

Okay, so I strayed pretty far from the sketch on this one... but I'm pretty happy with it in the end!

May Photos include -- my weekend away with DH, Oldest at Prom, Muppet Boy in Aladdin, Muppet Boy making S'mores with Best-Friend-Boy, and Muppet Boy and Little Guy celebrating the Last Day of school.... since I didn't post AT ALL in May... you all missed all of this! ACK!

Project 12 April

Normally with Project twelve, you'd do April in May, so while I'm behind, its not quite so FAR behind!

For April, I again used an 8.5 x 11 Page Map, this one from March 2011

I'm really digging this one - the black and grey details with the tiny bit of red somehow totally work for me!

April's Photos include - Muppet Boy's Science Fair project on Rocketry, DH's birthday Party!, The Boys all ready for Easter Sunday and The Little Guy's Birthday present at LegoFest.

I always have an interesting time choosing photos for these P12 layouts -- there are always others I'd like to use but I want to just capture a glimpse of the month. Those other photos will find their own places in the appropriate albums!

Project 12 - March

I fell behind on Project 12 for a while there but now I'm getting caught back up.

I looked at the color scheme for March but just didn't find it moving me.... so I decided to ditch the colors and go for a sketch (As Davinie said -- it worked for the last two years!) So I headed over to Page Maps in search of motivation.

For March I started with this Page Maps Sketch from May 2011

This sketch is for a double 8.5 x 11 not 12x12 and it didn't use as many photos as mine but you can definitely see the relevance!

For March, our pictures include Muppet Boy's Crossover from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts, our Spring Break Tour at Celestial Seasonings, Muppet Boy's Birthday Party, Dr. Seuss Day with the Little Guy, a tour at the National Center for Atmospheric Research on Spring Break and my Baptism.

Project 12 2012

I've been working on catching up on Project 12 -- I finished my January and February pages back in March.

I was really pleased with the results of my Kraft backgrounds for my Journal Your Christmas project this year and decided to carry that over to Project 12.

I started the year participating in Scrapbook and Cards Today's Color Suite's for the first couple of months --

 I really liked the outcome of using this color scheme! It worked for me.... but it was a struggle!

For January, the photos included wrestling photos*, an Explorer post group photo, boys goofing off in the backyard, Cub Scout Rocket Derby, the Talent Show and an indoor amusement place with the cousins.

For February, I found the color scheme a lot more challenging! Girly colors are not something  with which my stash is filled!

 I liked but did not LOVE the outcome...

For February, the 101st day of school, the Little Guy's new loft bed, more wrestling, making Valentine's cards, playing in the snow, the Caucus, and Blue and Gold. 

More of the year coming soon! 

*The blacked out photos are wrestling photos that I do not have permission to republish.

Hello HAIL

Not a lot of scrapping this week -- I've done one Project 12 Layout (will post soon) and that's it....

We're going to the circus tonight! So that ought to be fun! And photogenic!

While we wait for more interesting post material -- here's a glimpse of the crazy hail that we've had here in Colorado Springs this week

These hailstones were picked up in my front yard last night (they're in my freezer right now!)

This is the construction project at our church flooding in the insane flash-floody weather that swept in on Weds.

I took my car for a repair estimate this morning (it was out in Wednesday's storm but luckily not yesterday!) I sure hope we don't get more tonight while we're at the circus!

Over a month!

ACK!!! It has officially been over a month since I last posted on my blog!

So sorry, guys! Things have been hectic around here.... school wrapping up, Scout stuff, Oldest heading to Prom, DH and I going away for a weekend... Oldest spraining his ankle so badly that he had to cancel most of his Summer plans (at wrestling practice for those about to ask)...


What have I been up to Scrap-wise? I've been working on  a Disney World album for my friend Cass. I'll never ever forget the day she found out she was having twins.

You've met her kids here before -- Jenna, Lauren and Kyle. Lauren and Kyle have type 2, Spinal Muscular Atrophy. And recently the Make A Wish Foundation granted Lauren's wish for a family trip to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Orlando.

So, with the help of the fantastic, amazing, wonderful ladies at Disney Scrappers, I've been working to document their amazing trip. Here's  a sneak peak -- I haven't shown these to her yet ;)

 Princess Lauren and her Daddy, Chris

Goofy and the kiddos!