Scrapbook Saturday

I don't have much to share this week as I haven't gotten much scrapbooking done for the past few weeks. But, I was excited to cut this Eiffel Tower with my Cricut to act as the "A" in my Paris title. But, it took me 9 cuts to get it right!

So here's how it works. You find the image you want to use and add it to the mat. Then you size it to whatever size you want. Now you are ready to cut. So, I did. 

I decided that I wanted the silver on top. I kept messing up and cutting the black part--which is supposed to be the shadow--too small. 

Finally 45 minutes later, I finally got it right! I might still figure out a way to use the other cuts. I do love my electronics, but they can be so frustrating. It's not the electronics--they know what they are doing. It's me! As they say, "user error." And I seem to have a lot of those!!

Speaking of "flub ups"--I made one on this June monthly recap. The photo on the flip up on the upper left is upside down. I didn't realize that until I noticed it in the picture. I've fixed it now, but it wasn't exactly easy. There was more to it than just pulling it up and turning it around. I had already taped everything together, so the tap ripped part of the picture. That meant I had to cut a bit off and re-tape it. 

See what I mean about how frustrating scrapbooking can be? Makes you wonder why I keep doing it. Sometimes, I don't know myself!

I am really enjoying doing a monthly recap, but I have to admit, it's challenging to get all of the information I want in such a much smaller format! The book is a 6x8. Still it's a lot of fun.

Friday Funnies

Five Things Thursday

Let's talk BOOKS!!

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

This pretty much "nails it!" I'm happy to have grown up in a large family!

Monday Mystery

We've had this plant for a very long time. I have never liked it. It had about 3 or 4 of the tall leaves for years. I've really always hated it. I thought Butch liked it since he brings it in every year. Neither of us have any idea where it came from. I always thought he must have bought it because to me, it's a "guys" kind of thing. Definitely not my vibe. But he says he didn't buy it. So there's that mystery--where the heck did it come from? And then, the next mystery. What the heck is it??

So last year, I decided to figure out what it is. Using my plant identification app, I

found that it was a bird of paradise. This year, I decided to fertilize it. Suddenly, it's going gang busters. Butch thought it was something other than a bird of paradise. I tried my identifier app again. This time, it says it's a banana plant. That makes more sense to Butch. I don't know why. 

Anyway, I guess we'll see what happens and then decide. Here's a bird of paradise picture from the web:

And here is the banana plant:

I guess the only way we'll know for sure is if it every produces a bloom or bananas!

It's a mystery for sure! I'm still leaning towards bird of paradise. We'll see. 

I'll keep you posted!

A Little Something for Sunday!

Well, it's about that time to share a few garden pics. 

This is a month ago when we got everything planted:

And just 5 weeks later:

Last year was the first year that we decided to go with all of the same color flowers.

I had half a thought that each year, we would pick a different color. But, we loved the RED so much that we decided to stick with it. It's so bright and cheery and shows up so well. We just love it. We sit outside every afternoon with a cocktail--or not--and just admire everything. We are diligent about watering, dead-heading, and removing dead leaves. It's a lot--especially the watering--every day. The pruning aspect only takes about a half hour/forty five minutes twice a week. I actually really like dong it. It's my favorite part of gardening. I pretty much hate the hauling,  the planting and the ferilizing. But the fertilizing is crucial! As you can see, everything is about twice the original size. 

It's red. And we're loving it. 

Scrapbook Saturday

Yesterday, I spent the 4th of July sorting through my two 12x12 storage boxes full of travel scrapbook supplies. I used one box for road trips, hiking, Disney, beach and anything else regarding travel in the U.S. The second box contains all general travel supplies as well as internationally themed things and travel stamps. It took me 3 hours!! I have a lot of stuff. 

When we went to England at the end of April, I knew that I would be making two layouts for that trip. One would be for the first part of the trip with Janet and the last part of the trip with Butch.

I made the cute luggage tag on the Cricut. 

The flag on the left with a picture of Big Ben is actually from a bag that came with something I bought. I made a pocket to hold Butch's 20+ page journal. He's started to add photos to it. I told him that officially he is now a "scrapbooker!"

I cut the crown on the Cricut too and used another bag as part of the title for my page with Janet.

The ribbon across the bottom was something that was tied around some towels I bought. That what I call a "two-fer!" The towels and then a bonus for my scrapbook. 

The title block opens to reveal another picture.

I used an insert to hold more pictures. also, I use a library pocket to hold the itinerary and journaling. 

I'm so happy I got all of my travel supplies sorted. Now I can plan for my Paris layout(s). I'm planning on doing 3. "Paris", "Disneyland (Paris)" and "Food, Flowers and Tea." I've already planned the titles on the Cricut--I just have to cut them. Plus, I pulled out all the supplies I have for Paris. I'll put papers and several things together to make kits. It's always easier to start with a kit! A little pre-planning goes a long way. It's much more fun to sit down to create when everything is together.