PL2019 - Week 37 | Sahlin Studio

I'm feeling good and relatively caught up with my project life album.

This layout, Week 37, we had sort of a calmness, as extra curricular activities hadn't started up yet. We were in denial once again, about how busy things would become. You'd think this many years in, we'd know better. Barry nearly bought flooring for us to work on a couple of areas in the house, and I, being the voice of reason said, 'No... It seems like we have lots of time, but we really don't'.

A week later, we were scattered in every direction. Glad we held off on the flooring.

Here is my layout for week 37:

• This week we put in insulation and speaker wire, we're getting there!
• An extra ice time for the kids to get their legs back. 
• Everyone needs a Madelyn to go shopping with.
• So excited again this year for my December Daily album. This product looks amazing!
• Drywall up and the first coat of mud. It looks so much better already.
• Having in the basement with the kids, playing "guess that tune". It was so fun. 

The following Sahlin Studio product was used: 

For You Are Here  Elements - https://the-lilypad.com/store/you-are-here-elements-ss_youarehere_ep.html

For You Are Here  J. Cards : https://the-lilypad.com/store/you-are-here-journal-cards.html

Epic Road Trip - Part 4

I completely forgot to add the very last few photos of our summer adventure.

We left Flagstaff and finally began to head north-ish.

Our last destination was Bryce Canyon in Utah. I have to say that our Rocky Mountains are breath-taking. It's what I expect to see, when someone says the word mountains. Our drive from Flagstaff to Bryce Canyon was spectacular. The landscape and the rock formations in this area were so unique. I really enjoyed it, and would love to go back and do the drive again. Maybe spending more time in a few more places. Maybe going when it's not quite so busy. Or quite so hot. 

I had hoped to see Horseshoe Bend, and was delighted that it gave us a smidge of advance notice. Enough to at least signal and get off the highway in time. 

We paid to park, and were told by the attendant, 

IT'S VERY HOT TODAY. 

WEAR A HAT. 

TAKE WATER WITH YOU. 

DON'T LEAVE ANIMALS IN THE CAR. 

I got the distinct feeling, this walk isn't for everyone. We parked and proceeded to make our way to the viewpoint. We were told it was a 45 min walk, return. I had to go back to the car and change out of sandals into runners, the pathway was red sand. 

We wondered whether we had time to get to the viewpoint, before the storm him. [We did] It is something else to hear thunder rumbling across canyons and valleys. We heard a lot of it in these few days. [Vegas, Grand Canyon, here at Horseshoe Bend and Bryce Canyon]

First glimpse approaching the canyon.

And here it is, taken with an iPhone. As best as I can, trying to get the whole image into the photo.

Again, mostly no guard rails here. [She's not as close as she looks]

 But he's obviously more mindful of staying back from the edge.

Heading back up. Yes. Up.
It.
Was.
Hot.

We stopped in Page, AZ, for a water break, then continued on.

We arrived at Bryce Canyon, and checked into our hotel. This was our rustic little cabin. It was exactly the same as I remembered it when I was 13. We quickly made our way to the 'amphitheatre' for the view.

Mason, by this time was giving us one-word answers. He'd had enough together time. He was crabby. So naturally, we told him to walk it off. When he's crabby, there is often an underlying issue, usually it's hunger...

Then we went for dinner. Not a lot to choose from here, but we did end up having a pretty good pizza at Valhalla and were able to sit outside and eat it.

After dinner we headed back to the canyon again, where Madelyn said, and I kid you not... "Why, we already saw it..."

We made our way to Sunset Point, and watched the last of the sun go down.

The stormy sky followed us here too, and we actually had lightening and thunder through the night.

The next morning I got up and walked to Sunrise Point, where the canyon looked once again, altogether different.

Then we began the long drive home.

We drove through this magnificent storm. This is not edited. This is what we drove into...

Spent the night in Idaho Falls, the kids marvelled at the roaming buffalo...

Our plan was to spend one more night on the road, but we ended up driving home from Idaho Falls in one day. We were all looking forward to our own bed, our own bed partners and some privacy...

We made it home safe and sound, and have all the memories of our trip to look back on.

It was such a good time!

PL2019 - Week 36 | Sahlin Studio

I have an unexpected free morning, as the furnace isn't working. I had to clear my calendar to wait for a technician to come and hopefully figure out and correct, the error message on our furnace. I know one thing for sure, it's not working. The fan is blowing cold air, and our house is a chilly 14 degrees Celsius. The 'reset' has been attempted, to no avail. 

If you ask me, the digital age simply adds one more element to the list of things that can go wrong. The majority of us are ill equipped to handle these problems... Like error messages on the furnace.  

I'm super thankful that it's October, and not mid Dec/Jan, when winter really wreaks havoc. 

Having said that, I am bundled up from head to toe in polar fleece. Any one that knows me knows, I don't like to be cold. After publishing this post, I plan to get on the couch under a blanket with a hot cup of tea, and my book. 

That seems the most logical way to deal with the chill. 

Here is week 36 of my album: 

• First day of school pictures!
• Family room is ready for a ceiling. 
• A very long over-due haircut happened. 
• Madelyn at evals, meeting up with past team mates.
• Mason learning about checking the oil.
• Headphones playing music, texting with friends. 

The following Sahlin Studio products were used: 

Photo Templates Vol. 1: https://the-lilypad.com/store/4x6-Photo-Templates-Vol-1.html

For Real Elements: https://the-lilypad.com/store/For-Real-Elements.html

For Real J. Cards:  https://the-lilypad.com/store/For-Real-Journal-Cards.html

PL2018 - Week 35 | Sahlin Studio

Oopsie, with my most recent post, I uploaded the wrong week.

It's since been deleted and I'm attempting to try again, this time uploading the correct week.

Having said that, everything I mentioned about the snow being gone and the spectacular sunrises and sunsets is still totally accurate.

***

The snow has finally melted around here, and although many of the leaves are frozen in place on the trees, some are continuing to change and flutter down to the earth.

I love this time of year, but also really wish it would last a bit longer. I don't count 2 snowstorms as 'fall like' weather. 

I love the sound of the leaves scuttling across the yard and roads in the wind. And the sunsets... They seem more amazing at this time of year. Is that because we're more present for them? They're happening around dinner time, and perhaps I'm more aware of them because I'm watching out the window? Whatever the reason, the sunsets in October don't disappoint.

***

Here is my week 35:

• Madelyn and her littlest cousins at Calaway Park. 
• Enjoying a funny moment with Barry.
• Mad being serious for a photo.
• A crazy storm that literally light up the sky with sheet lightning for 30 mins. 
• Mason coming home from a driving lesson. 
• Finally, our front door is painted. And I love it. 

The following Sahlin Studio product was used:

PM Beginnings - Elements https://the-lilypad.com/store/Project-Mouse-Beginning-Elements.html

PM Beginnings - J. Cards https://the-lilypad.com/store/Project-Mouse-Beginning-Journal-Cards.html

Day of Thanks Collection | Sahin Designs

I try to be mindful of capturing the moments, without being annoying about it. Sometimes in fact, I'm so laid back about it, that I forget to take any photos at all. This has happened more times than I'd like to admit.

I'm working on it.

This past weekend was the Canadian Thanksgiving. The timing couldn't be more perfect, because the Day of Thanks collection was just released by Sahin Designs.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with both sides of the family. I tried my best to remember to take pictures. I did okay, but not great. I had to rely on photos that were sent my way by my sister-in-law. That being said, I'm not a stickler about where the photos come from, I'm just glad to have them. 

Here is my two page spread: 

 

To check out more fabulous inspiration using this product, check out the blog.

This collection is on sale for 20% off, through October 20th, 2019.  It can be found on both Sahin Designs and The LilyPad. If you happen to subscribe to the Sahin Designs newsletter, you get the opportunity to purchase for 50% off!

The product can be found by following these links:

https://sahindesigns.com/products/day-of-thanks-pocket-templates/

https://sahindesigns.com/products/day-of-thanks-cards/

https://sahindesigns.com/products/day-of-thanks-papers/

https://sahindesigns.com/products/day-of-thanks-elements/

Field Trip - River Watch

This months template challenge on The Lily Pad forum, is a good one.

The template happens to be from Sahin Designs, I love the simplicity of it.

I created this layout, documenting a recent field trip that Barry volunteered for at Madelyn's school. 

I know when I'd gone on the field trip, 4 years ago, the day was beautiful. [We've had snow twice this year already. A lot of it] The day that Madelyn and Barry went wasn't quite as warm, but luckily it wasn't snowing or raining.

I'm pretty sure I had more fun on the field trip than Barry did. I think he's thrown in the towel on field trips... Let's face it, 13 and 14 year olds are an interesting bunch. 

I was hoping he'd love the field trip as much as I had, but not sure he did. Madelyn however, agreed with me, that it was the best field trip ever!

I used the following Sahin Designs product: 

https://sahindesigns.com/products/indexed-papers/

https://sahindesigns.com/products/indexed-elements/

https://sahindesigns.com/products/indexed-cards/

On Our Way | Sahlin Studio

Newly released On Our Way kit, is so versatile and you can do so many things with it!

I wish I/we could travel much more than we do. Our last trip on a plane was to Vegas in 2017. This summer however, we had our epic road trip and saw so many places in the span of two weeks. 

Here is how I used a pocket page to document the very first ocean stop on our trip. 

The beach is our happy place. I'm delighted that all four of us feel that way. 

Our first stop to Seaside, OR was, as Bob Ross famously said, a happy accident. We hadn't planned to stay there initially. As we planned our trip, we were looking at a map. We had no idea about Seaside, we just knew we wanted to get from Coeur d'Alene to the beach.  As soon as possible. So Barry suggested Seaside, and we booked a room. 

We loved it there. The vibe. The town. The view. We will most definitely return. I'm so glad we decided to check it out. We were obviously meant to. 

I used the following Sahlin Studio product: 

https://the-lilypad.com/store/On-Our-Way-BUNDLE.html

[Receive the bundle for 47% off the regular price through October 7th!!]

October Template Freebie - Sahlin Studio

It's the beginning of a new month which means a new template from Sahlin Studios is available. 

I love this template with so many circle elements to play with. [To download, follow this link] The circles are grouped together, so you can clip paper to them in 'clumps'. Isn't this fun? 

And by now you know, I may change things up to suit my photos better. 

I shifted the original layout 90 degrees, so I could add a landscape photo to the photo box. 

Here's how my finished layout looks. 

This photo of us, has become one of my favs. I can see it might be used a lot. I know I've already used it a couple of times. We're both wearing red hats, so I converted the picture into black and white. Don't worry, you'll see the red hats in another layout I'm sure. 

We just celebrated our 21st anniversary. Wait, what? Yes, 21 years. I can't believe it myself. And we still really like each other. So I feel like we're very, very lucky. 

Happy Anniversary! Wouldn't want to do this with anyone else!

I used the following Sahlin Studio products: 

Summer Stories Kit: https://the-lilypad.com/store/SS-Summer-Stories-Kit.html

First Layout for Sahin Designs! | Pumpkin Song

Creating my first layout for Sahin Designs also meant getting to work with product that coincides with one of my favourite times of year, Halloween!

I was excited to create a layout, from Halloween several years ago. [Last year, Madelyn happened to be on a school trip during halloween, so she never got to go out and collect candy] I'm afraid that she has been deeply scarred by missing last years opportunity to collect loot.  She has been telling me for months now, that she is going out this year, no matter what. Even if her friends aren't, she is. 

There's just something about going door-to-door holding a bag open for candy that can't be beat, I guess.

Here is the layout I created: 

This was grade 7, two years ago. She went to a different junior high school than all of her friends. She was missing them terribly, and arranged to go out trick or treating with them. 

The weather was terrible. It rained all day long [thankfully it didn't turn into snow] It did stop before they went out, but it was wet and chilly. They were troopers, out for a couple of hours. There was a lot of giggling and silliness. I'm glad she was able to get together with her friends. 

Looking forward to this years photos, as I told her it would be her last year going out. Can't wait to see the costume come to life, she's planning on going as Alexander Hamilton.

The products I used are listed below, and are 40% off through Monday October 7th. Get them while you can so you're ready to capture this years Halloween memories!

To create this layout I used the following Sahin Designs:

https://sahindesigns.com/products/pumpking-song-elements/

https://sahindesigns.com/products/pumpkin-song-papers/

https://sahindesigns.com/products/pumpkin-song-cards/

Exciting News!

Pinch me, I'm so excited, I've been invited to be a creative team member for Sahin Designs!

Here is the announcement, and I can hardly believe it! I feel so lucky to be surrounded by such talented ladies.

I can't wait to get to work creating with these fabulous designs! 

More scrapbook pages to follow!

PL2019 - Weeks 29 & 30

I skipped over the weeks we were on our summer road trip.

I knew I wanted to include them in my project life album, of course. But I wanted a little more time to think about how I was going to tackle this. 

We took selfies or had photos of the 4 of us, everywhere we went. It was awesome, because even though Mason the kids were getting fed up with picture taking, I continued taking them. 

I decided I would 'bookend' weeks 29 and 30 focusing on all the selfie photos we'd done taken during our trip.  

This is the front page:

And yes, I just realized that my title card is wrong... Dang it. I put week 21, not week 29... Not sure I care enough to print it again, I might just let ignore it, or cross it out with a sharpie...

Currently I have left the next couple pages back side of this page blank. I want to document our trip in a bit more detail within this album, but haven't totally thought it through yet. 

Here is the last page, also week 30. 

I love that there are hardly any words. It is simply photos of the four of us, in some of the places we visited.  

This trip was so much fun. Can't wait to tell a few more stories about it.

The following Sahlin Studio product was used: 

https://the-lilypad.com/store/Gather-Kit.html

https://the-lilypad.com/store/Gather-Journal-Cards2.html