Memory Spark Monday

Krisi here from Chelle's CT here to bring you this weeks Memory Spark Monday. On my own blog every Monday I do what I call Mom's Monday Memories, this is basically a picture review of the week. I keep telling myself I am going to focus more on the story each week, but time never seems to permit. Even if each photo says something to me, if I don't write it down no one will know what is says.

When you look at a photo (that you were there when it was taken) lots can be said about that photo. Did you know that if you focus you can re-hear what was going on, or smell what it smelled like at that time (either the person or the air or even you). Think about what else was going on when the photo was taken? Kind of like a mini movie - what part of the "movie" does the photo belong at? Your feelings about the events going on trigger different memories than that of someone else who may have been right there with you.

Here is the photo I am going to use - one that was taken just this week, but I could have easily chose one from 20 years ago and done the same activity.

This photo was taken during a visit with my Aunt Sarah. She stopped by for a little visit before going out to eat with my mom and grandma. Both of my girls LOVE to color, I love to watch them do their thing, it is so exciting to see them growing up and doing things on their own without constant help. As I view this photo I can smell a few things, crayons (that waxy smell) as well as a new air freshener I had just plugged in and was way to strong, and I wanted to go unplug. I can hear quiet for just a moment as they are so engrossed in their coloring they are not saying a word. The silence was interrupted by the discussion with my aunt continuing (not a bad thing). My aunt was only there an hour and the first part was spent with the girls eating on the lollipops she brought them, so seeing them sit so still and quiet was amazing! Shortly after this my aunt left and the coloring continued.

One photo with so many pieces of the puzzle that no one would know if it wasn't written down for them to read. I challenge you to find a photo you have taken or were right there when it was taken. This photo could be recent or could be from when you were younger. Then I want you to think to yourself how does this picture make me feel? What smell can I smell when seeing it? What do you hear when you see the photo? Where in the movie does this picture fit?

If you chose go farther with this lesson feel free to blog your photo and your answers to these questions or even create a layout with it please leave a comment with your blog posting/gallery link so we can check it out and leave you some love.

Happy memory making, and remember to focus on the story.

You Define Me

Sometimes a defintion is the perfect touch to a layout. And now it's a lot easier to use them...introducing: You Define Me!

13 dictionary definitions in 4 formats: white .png, black .png, clipped from the dictionary, and as a brush .abr
Also I threw in some "fasteners": 2 pieces of tape, a staple, and a piece of stitching.

and You Define Me: Love!

10 dictionary definitions in 4 formats: white .png, black .png, clipped from the dictionary, and as a brush .abr
(and the same 4 fasteners)

They are so easy to throw in a cluster on almost any page! But I really love using the brushes to make a faded word art behind my pics (see Fiona's red layout below and my layout on the bottom left)

Look what the CT did:

For this weekend only, I have a coupon for the "Define Me: Combo Pack"

The combo pack is regularly $3.50, and the coupon will take an additional 50 cents off!
Use the code: 3351_50offdefine

Sneaky Peek Thursday!

Check back tomorrow for the reveal!

Memory Spark Monday: The Sound of Memories

Hi guys,

This is Liz bringing you Memory Spark Monday. Whenever I think back upon memories my entire senses are involved. Sight, smell, and most importantly sound. I grew up in a house where music was always a fixture. My dad played in the marching band and my brother and I followed in his footsteps, marching throughout college. So I always associate music with memories.

As a child of the 80s, oddly enough, 80s music is not what I remember. I associate my childhood with the music of my parents, which included Billy Joel, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and George Strait. I also associate the oldies with growing up as a kid. When my brother and I were little, we had a dresser drawer filled with old 45s, we would put them on our Fisher Price record player (old brown and orange one) and jump on the bed and around the room like maniacs. Our personal favorites were Wooley Bully and anything by the Beach Boys. To this day, I want to jump around to Wooley Bully (even if I still don't understand the words.)

My high school years were defined by the music of my marching band shows, which included movie tracks from Newsies, First Knight, and Far and Away. I am instantly transported back to the football field whenever I hear strains of "Carrying the Banner". I remember the sweat, the smells of the grass, and the crispness of the air during our final performance in November. I love going back to those memories.

I remember dating my husband and the music I would listen to when driving him home. "Superman" by Five for Fighting and "You and Me" by Lifehouse. We didn't dance at our wedding so I consider some of these our songs, along with Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now". Nowadays, my memories are defined by the songs of VeggieTales, Backyardigans, and Blue's Clues. My most important memories are now those of my children.

I would ask you guess to think about how music or even sound in general has influenced your memories. Perhaps one song defined an important moment in your life. A birth? A wedding? A death? Graduation? Use the music of that time as a jumping off point for your memory and try to scrap about it. Music is a bigger influence than you think. If you don't think of music, also think of sounds like an old ice cream machine churning during summer or the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. Whatever is important to you. I hope this helps you scrap those memories, which is what scrapping is all about!

Throw Away Those Scissors!! -- Freebie

Ok, you don't really need to do that . . . but Chelle sure will make your digi-scrapping life a bit easier with these gorgeous templates to scallop or deckle your edges!!


Here's how Chelle's Fabulous CT used 'em:
By Becca:
By Lori:
By Fiona:By Liz:
By Jen:
And by me, Heather:Now, while you're picking up the full set above, you should also make sure to download the Pinking Shears Freebie Templates to complete your set! (Image linked)
Thanks for stopping by & happy scrapping!!

It's Sneak Peek Thursday Again!

Hey CC fans! It's Heather here to show you what goodie our talented leader, Chelle, has for you this week!
If you didn't all ready know, I created the sneak peek using one of my favorite products from Chelle, the Color My World Paper Pack. If you don't have it already, you should go get it now . . . or wait till tomorrow so you can get Chelle's newest product too!

See you tomorrow with the reveal & CT creations!

Memory Spark Monday

Hi everyone!! It's Fiona here for Memory Spark Monday. I was looking through some old photos I have, well actually not so old, but anything from before I had a digital camera, I consider old. LOL. So while looking through them I found some pics of our home as it was being built. I realized that I had never scrapped about this event. And such an important memory deserves to be scrapped!

My husband and I had been renting since college and we loved our apartment but when our son was born, we started talking about buying a house. My dad took us to look at some model homes that were in a new subdivision in my hometown. We went to have a look and fell in love with the neighbourhood and our home!

There was no model home for it. All we had to go by was floor plans and "artist's conceptual drawings" but we just knew it was the one for us. It had two-storeys, three bedrooms, two baths, attached garage, a "country style" front porch, and a big backyard! We would have GRASS!! We were sold!

Only problem was, we were 25 years old and had no money saved for a downpayment. It just wasn't going to be possible. But my mom and dad, just like every other time in my life, stepped in to help. It would be a year before the house was built on the lot we wanted. So my parents offered for us to move in with them for the year to save the money we needed.

So we gave our notice at our apartment and four weeks later we moved into my parents. It took some adjusting, we were used to being on our own, but my mom and dad couldn't have been more welcoming. Our son just LOVED it, being able to see his Grandma and Papa every single day!! And I was so happy to be back in my hometown, with all my family close to us. The year flew by and we regularly visited our new house to watch it's progress (and take pictures of course). One of our son's first phrases (he was only 18 months old) as he would point at the construction was "Dat's Ben's Howsh"......that's Ben's house, LOL. We had so much fun, going to the decorator's to pick our cupboards, our carpet, our paint, even where our electical plugs would go!

On June 15, 2003, we recieved the keys to our new home. All our family were there to help us move in. It was truly one of the best moments in my life. I had such a feeling of accomplishment and was so proud to call this house our home.

Here is the page I scrapped, I'm so glad I found these photos!



I used "Let's Camp S'More" and "Chunky Chipboard Alpha" by Chelle's Creations

What about you? What memories do you have of when you moved into your home? Were there any obstacles to overcome? How did you feel the day you moved in? If you haven't quite found "THE PLACE" yet, what is your dream home? What would it have in it, where would it be? Scrap about it!

Chillin' and Grillin' and Everyday Memories

Hi everyone, Fiona here, and I'm here because its' FRIDAY!!!! Woot! My feet are doing the happy dance !! Why you ask? Well first of all the weekend is here, I plan to kick back and relax! And secondly, I get the pleasure of revealing not one but TWO awesome kits from Chelle's Creations being released today at ScrapMatters.

First, how about a kit that is just perfect for all those summer BBQ pics? Check it out:

How awesome is this? It was originally a speed scrap prize but if you missed out, now is your chance to purchase it. Check out what the CT did with it:

by LIZ:

by BRE:

by ALLIE:

by JULIE:

by FIONA (me):

Click here to go grab Chillin' and Grillin'!

Next, I just have to tell you about this awesome collab between Chelle's Creations and Juno Designs. It's called Everyday Memories. Have a look:

This bright sunny kit has plenty of elements that work well for those everyday memories or 365 pages. It was featured in ScrapMatters' July newsletter. If you didn't pick it up then, now is your chance!

Check out some layouts the CT did with this fab kit.


by BECCA:

by ALLIE:

by FIONA (me):

by LIZ: by LORI:

Click here to go buy Everyday Memories!

Now have a fantastic weekend of relaxin' and scrappin'!

Sneaky Peek Thursday!

Hello! This is Liz and I am bringing you the sneaky peek for the week. As you are aware summer time is quickly coming to a close and the kids are getting ready to go back to school. But we still have time for one last hurrah before that. Chelle's new kit coming out tomorrow is perfect for scrapping some of those summer memories. Here is your sneaky peek:
So there you have it. Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for the big reveal and see some wonderful layouts that us CT members did using this great product! Have great day guys.


Liz

Memory Spark Monday

Happy Monday to you all!  I'm Jen and a member of Chelle's creative team...I signed up to hijack the blog today for Memory Spark Monday!

Last Monday, Becca wrote about family memories and looking back to her childhood...she asked us to remember something about our Mother and write or scrap about it.  Her story was very funny...about a spontaneous food fight at the dinner table, how fun!

She got me thinking about food and kitchen stories, and I realized that I have several, perhaps too many, kitchen mishap incidents that have happened to me!  I am actually a good cook!  And I like to cook, but for some reason, these strange "accidents" have happened in my kitchen and sadly, in other people's kitchens!

It all started way back when I was 13 or so and was babysitting for a family friend.  Actually, the Mom was my old babysitter when I was younger, and now I was babysitting her kids.  The kids wanted me to make them popcorn for a snack.  I admit, I hadn't really ever done that before, at least not on my own.  Now, this was before the days of microwave popcorn and so I had to use oil and the popcorn pot (you know the kind with the hinged, flip up lid and wooden handle (an important detail for later in the story).  So, I turned on the burner with the pot and oil and walked to the pantry to get the kernels and when I turned back around, no joke, flames are coming out of the pot!  I am freaking out!  I send the kids outside the house and then try to remember...is it baking soda or baking powder that puts out a kitchen fire?  I am panicked and can't remember, so I call my Mom and she hears on the other end of the phone, just these words: "Mom, is it baking soda or baking powder that puts out a kitchen fire?"  Now that I am a mother, I just can't imagine how she felt at that moment!  She asked if I'd called 911, no I hadn't.  She tells me to hang up and call 911, but I still don't know what to do with the pot!  So, I hang up, call 911 and to the sound of sirens racing through town, I try to move the flaming pot to the sink, but the wooden handle catches fire on the way!!!  So, I drop the pot on the linoleum floor (burning and marring it of course), BUT the drop must have sucked the oxygen out of the pot and the flames were extinguished, thank goodness!  So, the firemen get there and use big fans to air out the house and special spray to rid the kitchen of smoke.  My Mom arrived to see what was going on and help out if she could, but it was all over by then.  Oh, what a LONG wait for the parents to get home that was!!!  They weren't really angry with me, they knew it was an accident, they were shocked and upset and very thankful the kids were all right!

The next "oops" in the kitchen, wasn't as scary...just really funny.  I am at my then future mother-in-law's house for Easter.  My boyfriend (now husband) and I were there, his sister, his Mom's close friends.  We eat dinner, everything is great and we are all visiting as the pies are warming up in the oven.  There were three, a blueberry and two others...I can't remember the flavors, they aren't important.  So, the timer goes off and I offer to go and retrieve the pies from the oven so that his Mom could stay and entertain the rest of her guests.  I open the oven, and use pot holders to grab the foil pie pan from the oven.  I grabbed it at 9 and 3 o'clock and the pie flipped over my fingers and blueberry filling spilled all over the open oven door and down through the opening between the door and oven and even into the drawer below!  What a HUGE mess!  And of course, it was a pie someone had brought to the dinner!  How embarrassing, I still have not (and never will I fear) live that down!

Next up, Jen vs. the nacho cheese.  Again, at my mother-in-law's house, by now we are married, I think.  One of our favorite meals is tacos.  And I love to warm up Nacho cheese for a topping on tacos or chips.  I popped the container in the microwave like always and when I heard the beep, I took out the cheese.  Man was it hot!!!  Hotter than usual and I immediately dropped the container on the floor and the cheese spewed up like a geyser and went all over the kitchen...the floor, the ceiling, the light, the stove, the counter, you name it!  Again, what a mess!  His Mom said, from now on no nacho cheese gets heated up without a plate under it!

And my final (I hope) kitchen faux pas was at the first home hubby and I owned.  And it's a Christmas story.  Typically, I hosted Christmas Eve dinner for the two families, mine and his.  I decided that we were going to do fondue..fun right?  I had visions of everyone sitting around the table, dipping their bread and veggies and reminiscing and having a cozy time.  And that happened, for a while...  I bought the fondue pot for the occasion and could not find the right size Sterno, so I bought the special fondue oil that goes in the tiny little pot that sits under the fondue pot.  There's a top to it that you can supposedly slide open and closed to turn the flame up or down and control the heat.  Well, first of all his Mom doesn't like fire, no fire place use or candles in her house, so she was nervous to start.  But, we got it going and everyone was enjoying their fondue...until flames started crawling up the side of the pot!  What is it with me and fire!?!  Are these warnings I should heed for future fire-related decisions to avoid some major fire catastrophe in my life?!  I hope not!  Anyway, I was too afraid to try and turn the little dial thingy to reduce the flame.  My hubby did that and it didn't work, the fondue forks were burning, his Mom backed away from the table (holding a fire extinguisher), everyone was laughing, sort of.  He finally just put out the flame and we finished everything on the stove.  I returned the fondue pot to the store, it had to be defective right?  A Christmas Eve we'll never forget (and another kitchen moment I'll never live down!).

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of these incidents to scrap...but maybe someday I can take a picture of popcorn, blueberry pie, a container of nacho cheese and a fondue pot and do a page on this, it really would be funny!  Chelle, want to make a fire kit?  LOL

So, have I sparked your memory?  What is your one (or four) most memorable kitchen mishaps?  I'd love to read them!  Post them on your blogs and link us up in the comments here...scrap them if you can so we can see pictures!

I hope you have a happy and safe Monday, no fires!

Thanks for reading, Jen

Welcome to the Chelle's Creations Blog Train Station

Toot, toot! So happy you are traveling the train! (Bet you are too with all these wonderful goodies!)

You should have arrived from Suzanne's stop

One of my favorite summer memories was our trips to Downata Hot Springs. A couple times each summer after we finished milking the cows, we'd hop in the cars and head north to our favorite swimming pool. All of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents would go. I remember when I graduated from the kiddie slide to the super high metal slide. The warm water was perfect in the cool evening air. After a couple of hours we'd get dressed and the head to the picnic area for dinner: roasted hot dogs, red jello with bananas, baked beans and potato chips. We'd always fall asleep on the car ride home.
Downata has changed over the years, but we still enjoy a family trip up there at least once each summer.

And now here's your freebie:

Toot! Toot! All aboard for your next stop: Krisi

Bye Now!

P.S. If you get lost on the blog train, check the ScrapMatters Blog for a travel map.

Wild Oats and a Freebie

Happy Friday! Krisi here to let you know that Chelle has totally outdone her self this week with this fabulous collab she did with designs by Sarah Bennett and not only that... she did up a freebie to go with it!

And check out all the fabulous pages created from the Creative Team:

From Jan:

From Fiona - this fabulous two pager:

From myself (Krisi):

From Alli:

From Jen:

From Heather (tuttle):

From Bree:

From Becca:

From Liz:

From Tracy (Trixie Scraps):

And lastly from Chelle:

This weekend will be filled with LOTS of fun over at ScrapMatters. Events including iSpy, BINGO, a chat with fun prizes and much more. But lets not forget the Speed Scraps, there will be 7 in total, each with a fabulous participation prize.

Chelle will be hosting a SpeedScrap on Saturday at 3pm Eastern, 2pm Central, 1pm Mountain, 12noon Pacific.

And here is the participation prize:

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a fabulous blog train where you can get lots of great goodies. Oh wait... I have a goodie for you now too!

image clickable

I think that is quite possibly everything. See you at the party this weekend!

E-I-E-I-O...It is SNEAK PEEK Thursday! Chelle's Creations has a great new collab kit coming out tomorrow and you won't want to miss this one! What is that I hear? Moo, oink oink...