The Wizard of Oz

My friendly, playful niece likes several things, but two of her favorites are mail and the Wizard of Oz. Thanks to Graphic 45, I can give her both. Recently, Graphic 45 came out with a Wizard of Oz collection that is just too fun. Being a huge fan of Graphic 45 I snagged it right away. I took an old paperback that was dying (losing its binding, etc) and made flowers using my punch. Then I threaded some gingham ribbon through some thrift store buttons and glued them on for a center. I really liked the result. Will definitely be using that technique again. In the end, it was just a matter of cutting, gluing and arranging. A nice way to while away the afternoon. Hope that you enjoy!

At the County Fair

I love the fair! Having grown up in Columbus, Ohio it is required. We have one of the biggest state fairs in the country. It always took us two days for the fair. One day was junk food and rides...and what a gruesome combination that can be if you are not careful. The next day was shows and livestock. This day was reserved for horse shows, quilt shows and various cooking demonstrations. Then we would tour the stockyards and choose our favorite chicken!

This year I had the pleasure of attending the San Diego County fair. It was delightful! I saw a llama competition for the first time. This was also the first time I saw a turkey corn dog and deep fried girl scout cookies! You just cannot beat the fair for fascinating entertainment and quality cuisine!

Hope that you enjoy the layout! This is paper from my smaller than a breadbox Apron Strings kit. It is Echo Park's Summer Days. It was so much fun to play with and such a great mix of colors for my fun fair pictures!

Using up the extras

So, many of you know I am cheap. Or thrifty, depending on whom you talk to. Which means I like to use up as much free stuff as I can. Which means instead of using up my Yellowstone paper, I relied on free resources. For a 50 cent donation, I snagged a Yellowstone map. I used the map while in the park and then when I got home, I used it for background. I used sections of my paid for paper and blended it in with my map backgrounds.

This layout is about our hike to Fairy Falls. We arrived at the trail head to find a sign that said, "Campsite 48 is closed due to bear gnawing on carcass. Contact the ranger station for new assignment." Good times! We hiked through the rain and found our way to the waterfall and it was beautiful. Aaron found me a great walking stick and then we headed our muddy, damp selves back to the lodge.

All Yellowstone, all the time

Still playing with my Yellowstone photos. I am using up some fun papers from Creative Imaginations and Best Creation, Inc. Lots of fun camping paper and few stickers from the boy scout collection. I am playing with collage ideas and borrowing heavily from my favorite design guru, May Flaum. That has allowed me to tell a few Yellowstone stories that I have been dying to scrap. For example, in 1988, Yellowstone was hit with over 50 fires. It burned several thousands of acres. It will take around 125 years to get that mature forest back. I cannot imagine what Yellowstone looked like before 1988. I tried to capture some of the fallen trees in this latest layout.

Yellowstone Memories

Hello again! Sorry that I have been away so long! I have been out of town, hosting visitors and now I am back on creative track. So here is what I have been working on. Hope that you enjoy. I picked up a few Yellowstone sheets and some camping paper from Scrap your Trip. Great site with lots of travel friendly paper.

Flying the flag

This seemed like a good July post! I watched the Yellowstone Ranger do the morning flag raising one morning on vacation. I just watched and found that I was very inspired. With my hand over my heart, I smiled as she attached the flag to the clips and hauled it up the line.

For all the issues America has, at the end of the day, I am a free woman living in a free land with other free people. As Yogi Berra would say, "that's not nothing." Hope that you enjoy!