Finally!!!

It has only taken a month shy of 4 years, but I've finally completed Archie's senior album! It's all in the book and ready to take to him when we run to Abilene later today. Yay!!! Here are the last few layouts that I finished up.

First up is a 2 page layout on Archie's dog, Angus. The journaling reads: Angus was born Archie's senior year. The rest of the litter and the mother died due to a fever. Archie named and hand-raised Angus after that. He was a happy-go-lucky puppy. The quote sticker reads: My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am.

Archie took piano lessons from 3rd grade all the way through high school. He held a senior recital during the final months of his senior year. The quotation I used is by Yohann Dafeu: Give me a piano and I will give you music. 

The baccalaureate service is held the Sunday before graduation at one of the local churches. For Archie's year, he was one of the students to help lead the service. He played one of the hymns from his piano recital. I loved the way these bottle caps, the journaling block and the ribbon all had the same sort of design. It gave a nice balance to the page. 

This next two layouts are 2 pagers, but then shouldn't the most important day of the senior year get a little more attention? This was the before and after graduation party. I couldn't resist the Jolee's graduation balloons and felt the burlap ribbon gave a good pop of color to tie the two pages together.  The journaling reads: For Archie's graduation, we had a large group of family join us at Casa Cabana for dinner before the ceremony and after at our house for cake and ice cream. The cake was Lego themed in honor of Archie's Lego passion. 

The big moment! Graduation ceremony. I used a blue strip of paper on both pages, but it didn't seem to have enough presence, so I added a band of 3 ribbons, black, blue and black with a white design. 

I used Jolee's graduation hat and diploma. This one didn't need any extra journaling or quotations, so I kept it simple and focused on the pictures. 

One advantage of waiting so long to finish this album is that I could add some events from the summer between high school and college. These last two are from June and July.

VBS Time Traveler is about our church's Vacation Bible School that summer. I wrote most of the curriculum for the week and Archie helped me develop the science experiments. Then he taught the the Science sessions. The journaling reads: The summer after Archie graduated, he helped write and led the science activities in our Time Travel VBS. His was the favorite station for all the kids. 

And last, Future Glimpse (well, the last layout I made, not the last in the album, look back at other posts to see that.) Every year the Hardin-Simmons World Famous Cowboy Band performs at the Stamford, Texas July 4th Rodeo and parade. Archie knew he'd be joining the band when he got to HSU, so when they sent out emails inviting incoming freshmen to join in the rodeo and parade, he was eager to join. It was a long, hot march, but he loved being part of the group. He has stayed in the CBB all through college and has made lifelong friendships there. 

And that's it. This is the last Archie's senior album post. 

Now to get to all the other backlogged pictures...

Getting Behind

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I've done several layouts, just haven't slowed down to post them. Now Christmas is over, the sleet and ice are falling, so I'm cuddled up and going to post the ones I've done. I'm getting close to the end of the layouts for this album, so Arch will get it soon.

This first one is of Archie's 18th birthday. He wanted to go to the Abilene Zoo, so we did. He's always enjoyed animals and had a great time.This is based off a sketch from Pintrest. I offset the square of pictures, so I could add the stars. I think it's a nice contrast.

For Homecoming, the high school has different themes for the kids to dress up as every day. Archie borrowed one of Jeff's shirts, scarves, vests and chaps and dressed up like his dad for Western Dress Day. This is another Pinterest sketch. I followed this one pretty faithfully and used mostly scraps from my scrap stash.

Archie was Vice-President of National Honor Society his senior year. This was induction night. He has the single flower above his head. :) Sketch from Pinterest. (most of these are.)

Two of Laura May's photos from the old stable. In the top one Arch is watching a bee fly by. Right after that we figured out there was a hive in the wall behind his head, so we moved--quickly. The quote is "Be yourself, everyone else is already taken." Oscar Wilde. 

This is Prom. Arch took a friend and they looked very elegant. I loved these copper borders and wanted to use them together. Since the prom theme was "Night in Old Hollywood" they seemed to fit. Arch chose out the bow tie embellishments. He loves bow ties. 

Yes, this is the same photo (Laura May, again) just sized differently for accent. I always loved this shot. He seems to be staring out at something...the future? The words are the words to the song "The Words I Would Say" by the Sidewalk Prophets https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PLn6RkB1n4.

The gate is open for him to walk through. Yeah, sappy, but it will be the last layout in the album and  it's appropriate.

We've always had cats. Arch loves them. It wouldn't be right to not have them in this album. His senior year we seemed to have a bunch of stray kittens and cats around. This is based on a layout from Pinterest. 

Laura May photos here. Using up a lot of scraps. This one is for Grandpa. "Enjoy the moments that make you smile."

Archie wanted to get some shots with Dad's sword. In the tux, Laura and I thought this was very James Bond looking. The epoxy sticker says, "In the true man there is a child concealed who wants to play."

Just a few more layouts to go. I hope to get most of them done this week, so Archie can take the album back to school with him.

Busy, Busy

It's been a hectic couple of weeks! We've had family in, football games, and a trip to MD Anderson in Houston for a checkup with my oncologist (all is well.) I was glad I had several photos printed and a bunch of layouts and sketches Pinned! I got a lot done since I'd planned ahead.

This layout was lifted from a Pintrest layout. I loved the raised circles. I used plenty of pop dots on this one! I love the way the elegant flocked paper contrasts with the rusted fencing wire in this Laura May picture and with the burlap flowers (and Arch didn't think I'd use flowers. Hee Hee). I used a metal key and some of my old fiber stash to display the three metal tags which say: Listen, Imagine, Inspire. I added a metalic sheen clock as well.

Another one of Arch's senior photos by Laura May. I had a lot of fun with tearing, inking and layering the papers. I added a leather label frame with the word Remember, buttons and a sticker that says "When you love life, it will love you back."

These two are not really a 2 page layout, but companion pieces. They are from Halloween. The first shows Arch, Kat and two of her friends who came home to Winters and went to the Halloween Carnival with Archie. I had fun with my bendable ruler in making the curves. The second I focused on Arch and Kat's Doctor Who costumes and brought back two of their costumes from years ago. I used some of the same paper to connect the two layouts. 

This one also features photos by Laura May. Arch was posed on railroad ties that we had stacked out at the farm. In the left photo, Laura used a sepia tone and on the right, she used a saturated color. I used a sketch from Pinterest. The quotation reads, "Life is a song, Love is the music."

The ring layout was fun. I had this owl transparency and decided to layer some of the things under it and some on top. Archie had Philippians 4:8 on his ring, so the journaling quotes that. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

During Archie's senior year, my dad died and he spent a lot of time with us helping to get the house ready to sell. Grandaddy had a massive desk in a tiny room and Arch and Dad had to take it apart to get it out of the room--with some challenges. I had this diagram paper and thought it looked really cute with these pictures. The circles came from a sketch on Pintrest. 

Getting Work Done

Well, nearly had this whole post done and accidently bumped the touchpad mouse on my computer. It is now disabled, I hope, since it deleted the entire post. :(. Anyway, I was saying that today I have been clearing off my desk. My husband is getting stuff ready to build my counter while I'm up at school later today working in my room for a while and then working at the Fall Festival at the Kindergarten booth. So, I spent a good bit of today organizing and trimming my photos that were already printed. Now all I have to do is pull out the bag of pictures I want to scrap and get busy--at least for a few layouts! Now on to the fun stuff. These are the layouts I've done over the last several days. 

The first is another senior photo shoot picture by Laura May. Archie is on the back of an old work pickup in front of the old stables. If you look closely, you can see part of the word Stables on the sign behind him. I used several ribbons and some dried flower embellishments I have had in my drawer for years. The quotation is: Amid a world of noisy, shallow actors it is noble to stand aside and say, "I will simply be." Henry David Thoreau.

The next layout has two more photos by Laura May. She played with the focus on these giving one a sharp focus and the other a soft focus. I loved the bird on the background paper and found the cardstock sticker in my embellishment file. The epoxy stickers were there as well. They say, Sing, Play, Experience, Happiness (if you read that together, it's almost a sentence.) I used Tim Holtz distress tissue tape for the stripe. 

These reflection pictures amazing. There was little wind and the reflections were so clear. Laura had such fun with them. I had to laugh while doing the layout. The reflections were so clear, I nearly stuck a picture on upside down. The layout is based on a Pinterest sketch. The sticker says: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. I had to use at least one Prima flower in this album, but Archie, I promise it does have music notes on it. 

Blizzard Band is a two page layout of pictures I took throughout Archie's senior year. The large shot is the trombone section. I used ribbon for the left border and under the smaller pictures. I used some scraps for the patterned paper at the top. I had one last snowflake brad in a set of brads, so I used it. At some point during Archie's senior year, I found a chipboard mini-album that was snowflaked shaped, so I snatched it up, knowing our school mascot is the Blizzard. (We live in Winters, remember.) The outline for the cover seemed to just fit around the snowflake brad, so I inked it Blizzard Blue and then wallpapered two other pages of the album with some more paper. I used one for a journaling spot and the other for part of the title. The journaling reads: Archie was active in band all during school. His senior year he was section leader. He was asked to perform in a brass ensemble with Mr. and Mrs. Mooney and another student for the Veteran's Day program. He had a solo during marching season, as well. 

Catching Up Part 2

One of the things I got behind on with my cancer was my son's senior album. He graduated from high school in May of 2012 and will graduate from college this May, so I'm frantically getting that album finished. I've challenged myself to use my stash up and not buy anything but adhesives and cardstock that I might not have in the right colors. So, I'm having fun pulling out all those old embellishments, patterned papers, ribbons, Primas (well, not many of those! He might protest,) and all sorts of goodies.

Here are the first few layouts from the album:

We start with the title page. This photo is by Laura May of Bluebonnet's Photography. I loved the layered look I saw in a layout on Pinterest, so I scraplifted it for this one. The scripture quoted is Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

The pictures for this next LO were taken at the end of Arch's junior year for his 17th birthday, but we both agreed since he was 17 for most of his senior year, they worked in this album. Besides, I found the stained glass paper in my stash and HAD to use it. The quotation is People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. The photos were taken at the Old Buffalo Gap Cemetary.

Next is a layout I actually did a few years ago. Arch competed in Robotics competition all through high school and was team captain his senior year. Team Fluffy took 5th place in the Regional Competition that year. 

This is another LO I did back a few years ago. Photos again by Laura May. This is Grandpa's old tractor. Arch really wanted to wear his tux for a few of the shots and play his trombone (much like his sister did her formal and flute) in unusual places around the farm and other spots around town.The epoxy sticker says "Life is better when it's fun." 

 

The photos on this next one are the proofs for the senior photos the school took. Photographer was Wayne Hennington Photography. I put them on Artist Trading Cards and used a sketch I found on Pinterest. Arch was concerned the "bling" would be too girly, but he approved after I got it finished. The scripture is "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1.

The next is another photo by Laura May. It was taken at an old, run down stables that is now owned by a church member. Lots of interesting old architecture, in this place. The quotation is "The life given us is short, but the memory of a well-spent life is eternal. Cicero

Next is another Laura May photo. This was an old Butler bin on our farm that a storm blew over several years ago. Jeff and Arch hauled it up to Heartbreak Hill on the place and it just curled over like this. It had such a cool look that Laura and I had to get it in some shots. I love the juxtaposition of the tux and brass horn with the rust and corrugated metal.  The charm is from an old zipper pull that I saved. I added a rub-on to the velum tag at the top and a sticker to metal tag. The cog embellishment is from a set I had. The quotation is "Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air. John Quincy Adams. 

These are all fun shots of Arch being silly (and not happy with us making him get on the bike) that Laura May took. They just all seemed to go together. The top two are at the old stables and the bottom are at the farm. The quotation is "You are you. Now, isn't that pleasant?" Dr. Seuss. 

Last for this set, we're back at the curled Butler bin. Laura had fun with settings on this one, I love this shot. I had to include all three variations.  Kathleen told Arch it looked like a cool album cover. I spattered the patterned cardstock with paint and inked the edges of the photos to add to the rustic look. The quotation is, Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and everything. Plato

Catching up Part 1

So, I intended to get back to scrapping and posting back in January, but at my check up that month we found some suspicious nodes in my lungs. We had to wait till March to see about getting a biopsy so that they could either grow or go away. In March we confirmed that they were indeed the cancer that had metastasized again. So, in April I started chemo. After a very long spring and summer full of treatments (and some horrible allergic reactions), I finished chemo in August just as school started. I have moved to kindergarten this year and have been busy getting adjusted to the move. Speaking of moves, in July and August we worked around my treatments and got Kathleen moved to her new apartment and job teaching Pre-K and K music in Snyder. So now I have a new room to craft in. I've spent the past several weekends getting it set up--sort of. I have some more stuff to move and Jeff needs to build a counter and put a door on the closet, but I'm organized enough to scrap. More about that in another post. I'll post pics of my new room as soon as it gets finished. I haven't had this much space--ever! I'm having fun playing with my stash and finding stuff I totally forgot about.

Wow! Time to Catch Up!

It has been a while since I've posted! So sorry! For those that don't know, I've had an interesting couple of years. In March of 2013, I finally mentioned the knot under my tongue to my doctor and she sent me to my ENT. It turned out to be a squamous cell carcinoma tumor. We had it removed and I was back at school in just a week. Monthly check-ups went well till the end of March 2014. I was having what I thought were persistent sinus infections (normal for me), and I mentioned the swollen lymph gland in my neck to my ENT. He ordered a CT scan and sure enough, the cancer had metastasized. At the end of April I had a surgery and they removed 28, lymph nodes, my left jugular vein and the muscle above it. Eight lymph nodes including the tumor were positive for cancer.  We were referred to MD Anderson Cancer center in Houston and saw the doctors there for the first time in early June. A CT and PET scan showed that I had another lymph node positive for cancer. I had surgery again the following week and that was the only positive node so it was removed. Two weeks later I began a series of radiation and chemo treatments. After 33 radiation and 6 chemo treatments I came home to recover. My first check-up in October showed no cancer. I have another coming up in January and feel like it will be the same. For the first time in a couple of years I have energy to get stuff done and feel like I'm really accomplishing a lot. I see 2015 as a year of continuing to heal and recover and make progress. I'll try to get back to scrapping and posting my creations as soon as I can get the house better organized.