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Happy Thursday to you! I'm patiently waiting for this weekend. I am scrapping with friends, attending a chamber orchestra concert and celebrating my birthday. Can't wait!

But until then, here is a layout I created for the sketch challenge on the Authentique blog.

I stayed close to the sketch, just using two vertical 4x6 photos instead of two horizontal ones. I used primarily the Blissful collection. This is my favorite collection. I'm actually running out, so will need to remedy that right quick. It worked perfectly against the gray stitched paper from the Amy Tangerine collection too.

Supplies:
Authentique| Blissful (paper), Tabloids and Icons (cardstock elements)
American Crafts| Amy Tangerine (paper and Thickers)
Basic Grey | (buttons)


Thanks for stopping by!

Four Years Old

Well, that absence wasn't too long. I realized when I was going through my piles of post-it notes that I made a layout based on an Authentique color challenge, but I forgot to post about it. Oops. So, I'm taking a break from taking a break to show you what I made.

I love Authentique's papers. They are so, so pretty. And really great quality too. I hear they are selling 6x6 sheets of paper separately, which is an excellent idea.

Onto the challenge.

The color palette we needed to use is:

Here is my layout:

When I saw this picture of my niece I knew it would be perfect for this challenge. Her dress has all the colors in it! I punched a bunch of circles from papers in the Blissful and Uncommon collections. I then layered them all to create this great base for the photo. Where to put the title and journaling was a bit tricky with this design, because I didn't want to disrupt the flow, so I added them to the sides, which I think worked out well. This is one of my favorite layouts in a long time. I love when what I am envisioning actually comes out on the page.

Supplies:
Authentique| Uncommon and Blissful (paper), Diction (word fetti), Petite Type Circle (letter stickers), Tabloids (cardstock elements).
Studio Calico| Memoir (paper)

Thanks so much for stopping by. Now, back to getting healthy.

The Power Of Now

I fell in love with the Authentique line when I first saw it. Gray and yellow is one of my favorite color combinations, so I especially love the Blissful collection. I picked up the 6x6 paper pad and went to town cutting up little strips of paper to create this layout.

I love this photo of my Dad, so I enlarged it to 5x7. Since it's a favorite photo, I wanted to keep the focus on it, so I kept the rest of the page fairly simple.

Journaling| My dad is a big fan of Eckhart Tolle and his philosophy of the power of now. Even though I tease him about it, I totally agree. Life is fleeting. Soak in the now. Life will be richer for it. Also, I love this photo. A perfect example of enjoying the moment, enjoying the beauty. May 2011

I've been struggling with embracing this philosophy lately. I don't feel like I'm doing anything well right now. And I hate that feeling. I'm not sure if it's the changing of the seasons and so I'm feeling restless and a bit in mourning to see the warmth go. I do love fall, but winter is so close behind. It may be that another birthday is approaching and I'm just not where I want to be in life.

I want to love the now, but lately the daily grind of applying for jobs and worrying about money and worrying about making the wrong decision and missing an opportunity and missing my family and friends is wearing me down. I hope a trip up north to breathe in the wonderful Lake Superior air will get me out of this funk.

Until then, I will take a warm shower and do my best to make it a good day today.