Lions, Indians and Halloween... OH my!

There are a lot of things that keep me from doing the amount of scrapbooking I'd like to do. I've been making cards most of the year so I'll have handmade Christmas cards for this season. Enough for everyone and then some. I usually make cards every year and I just don't have enough to go around. This year I've neglected my scrapbooking, because I've really enjoyed card making. I have time for both just haven't done the later.

In my RCS group a challenge was proposed to get us all doing at least one page a month. There is also a challenge of some kind to go with it. I volunteered for October. I suggested doing Halloween pages. Lord knows I'm probably 15 years behind on those photos. Now I'm only 14 years behind with the above LO done. I really had a lot of fun doing it. I did get confused on whether or not they were taken in 1996 or 1997. That almost stopped me from scrapping too. I decided to just commit to a date. 20 years from now will one year or the next really matter. Hardly! Remembering the fun my DH and I had getting them ready for Halloween. It was a year where everyone had their own idea of what they wanted to be. Erik wanted to be an Indian. I sewed him an Indian costume. That reminds me .... that's a tidbit I'll want on the LO. As I got my daughter dressed in the lion costume she wanted to wear I asked DH to put some war paint on Erik's face. 15 minutes later I joined the boys and to my shock my son's WHOLE face was covered. I wanted to scream. From a mom's point of view I'm thinking... paint everyone... on the car... on me ... on the couch... in the eyes! I calmed down and asked, "What's with the whole face painted?" DH said, "He wanted his whole face painted." I said to Erik, "You sure look fierce" and left it at that. He had a ball. My daughter really enjoyed roaring at everyone and everyone did the obigatory "cringe in fear" response to meeting a lion in person. So, she had a great time too.

With the Halloween photos were these pumpkin patch photos, so I thought I may as well knock them out too. Seeing my sweet children having such a good time... that is what scrapbooks are for! I have a Christmas news letter some where with my kids driving this tractor. If I can find a copy of it around here some where... I'll be able to pin point the year of these photos. Yes, I commited to getting them done with a date on them. I didn't say I'd stop researching to find the correct date. I'm crazy like that.

Wanted! Cowboy Chili

A recipe and a craft project.... Pampered Chefs Cowboy Chili with a small tweak. The recipe calls for layering it in a Pampered Chef small measuring bowl and giving it as a gift. I did that many times and it was greatly received. I'm long past those days now as everyone I know practically got one. I still use the recipe, because it is really good. The recipe was very convenient as you cook the chili straight from the dried beans to chili. No soaking. I've found over the years and let me try and be delicate that the amount of gas from the beans after eaten was greatly increased with this recipe. It occurred to me the only difference in this recipe was that I soak the beans prior to cooking in all my other bean type recipes. Soooooo, I started soaking the beans in this recipe and problem solved. If you want the recipe in it's original state take a look here.

As for the crafting of this 6X6 page it looks simple, but a lot of work went into getting it to look this way. It really was a work in progress for several days before I got it looking the way I saw it in my mind. First I printed the recipe with a western font using a DeskJet printer not inkjet as with the later the printing would age too much. The paper was crumpled on the sides then straightened out (some what). It was then sponged with chocolate chip, creamy caramel and mustard inks to give it an old worn antique look. Next I used deckle scissors to give the edges a torn look. Actual tearing wouldn't have been precise enough for 5 1/2X5 1/2 inch size I needed. I altered small copper brads by heating them each dipping them in silver embossing powder 2 and 3 times melting after each dip. When done I would then count to about 5 and while still warm press them onto a piece of scrap paper to give them a more flatten and dull looking nail head appearance. After assembling the WANTED recipe I attached it to wood grain paper using CM photo splits and glue dots.

A stray picture

I've had this stray picture for a number of years. Never really knew what to do with it. So, it gets tucked away. It is of me and my puppy. The puppy was so cute. I only had the one picture and never felt it deserved a scrapbook LO. For September I made myself a challenge to start getting a LO done a month. I've really slacked off on my scrapbooking and just been doing cards most of the year. Then this stray picture popped up again. So, I thought I deserve to be in an album with my puppy. I'd been wanting to start an album just of my poodle Little Star. This LO began the album.

September's Christmas Card Challenge

This is my card for the month. I made 6 identical cards. This is a bit washed out with the flash. Some day I'll take a photography class. I really enjoyed the combination of blue with the black. Credit for the original idea goes to a gal on Split Coast Stampers. The stamp comes from a Stampin' Up set call "Alphabet Stew." I just love the mixed up letters to make the sentiment.