Ole-Talk

Following in My Big Sister's Footsteps

I knew that I wanted to do a layout for today's blog post but had no idea what I was in the mood to scrap.  Then I say Francine's blog post from yesterday and had an an ha moment.  I remembered that I had blogged about this photo back in December so decided to follow in my big sister's footsteps and do a blog post to scrapbook page.

I tweaked the journaling just a bit and it reads:

Reunited! Although it seems that Francine and I see each other often before reuniting in December last year (2010) we had not seen each other for six and a half years...not since my dad's funeral.  So last Christmas (Dec 2010) was doubly special since I did not only get out of the cold but I got to spend face to face time with my sister.  Barbados 12/23/2010 

Here is a close up of the butterflies on the left of the page. The bigger ones were cut with my Silhouette and I enhanced them with glam-rocks using the i-rock tool from Imaginisce.

I really love this technique and plan to use it a lot more going forward.  Sometimes you just don't have the time to do a complete layout but it really does not take a lot of time to get the story down in a blog post with the photos.  Plus it makes it easier when you do have the time to scrap as you already have the story written down and you don't have to rack your brain trying to remember the details that go along with the photos.

He Shoots

We are enjoying the last week of our vacation in the sun.  Today we took a trip up to the very north of the island to River Bay in the parish of St. Lucy.  While Sheldon was busy capturing the beauty of the area I took the time to get a few photos of him in action.

You can find the photos that Sheldon took here. 

 

 

Natural Wonder of the World

I have always thought that Harrison's Cave should be listed as one of the natural wonders of the world and after visiting it a few day days ago I still believe this. The beauty of the stalagmites, stalactites , natural pools, rivers and waterfalls is still as breath taking as the first time I saw them.  Everyone should add a visit to Harrison's Cave to their bucket list beacuse photos really can not show the true beauty of this island wonder.

 

Reunited

Although it seems that Francine and I see each other often before reuniting a few days ago we had not seen each other for six and a half years...not since my dad's funeral.  So this Christmas is doubly special since not only am I out of the cold but I get to spend face to face time with my sister. 

Actually it is triply special because I also got to meet my nephew for the first time and of course we are surrounded by family and friends.

I cannot ask for a better Christmas!  Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


 

Finis

I did it!!!  I completed my Something from Almost Nothing Class with Shimelle.  Here is the final page in my Celebrate Life Album and the final of ten prompts that we received for this class.  Shimelle, however, is still challenging us to use our stash for bonus challenges and she will also be hosting her first online crop April 16 - 18th.  You can see my other pages here, here, here and here (lol)

 

A Pat on the Back

I am so proud of myself.  I am up to date with my layouts for my Something from Almost Nothing class.  This is indeed a first for me as I usually start these classes with all good intentions and somewhere around the fourth or fifth prompt I promptly (hee hee) fall off the wagon and although I have the good intentions of going back when I have time to catch up it just never happens.  So I think I deserve a pat on the back for this accomplishment.  See anything really is possible. 

Here are the latest using flowers, buttons, and chipboard.

Night time shot of the beach at St. Lawrence Gap on New Year's Eve.  Photo by my amazing husband.  I layered the flowers, secured them with a brad to give them depth and interest.

I took this photo of Sheldon without his knowledge.  I wanted to capture him as he took pleasure in waiting to capture the sunrise at Cherry Tree Hill in Barbados.  We got up at 5 am to make the drive so that he could get the shots.  You can see his amazing sunrise photos and other photos from that morning here.

I am embarrassed to admit that all the chipboard used on this layout I have had in my stash for at least a couple of years.  It felt great to liberate them from storage hell and put them to good use on this page.  Another from our trip to Barbados for Christmas 2009.  Photo by Sheldon.

Seven days is just too long

Wow - I am really slacking again on my blog posts.  Did not even realize that it has been seven days since my last update.  Bad Vernell!  Well here is some more visual inspiration for you.  The latest pages for the mini book I am doing for the class I am taking with Shimelle.  These two focus on using page protectors in new ways and stickers.

 I added the rubons to the page protector and than covered the photo with it using brads to attach it to the layout.  Quote reads:  "At the end of the day there's nothing more important than finding the person you want to be with for the rest of your life" ~ Eddie Burns

   

Photos by Sheldon

I used a sheet of 7 Gypsies stickers that I am sure has been in my stash for at least two years if not more and the letter stickers I have had since Adam was a boy (hahaha).  I punched the two round quotes our of bigger stickers and was also able to use what remained to punch the circles that I used at the top as an embellishment.  Also wanted include four photos on this so I stacked them and made a mini flip "book".  You can see the other photos in the image on the right.

The Celebration Goes On

Continuing my pages for my "Celebrate Life" album that I am doing for Shimelle's Something from Almost Nothing class.  For prompt three we had to use ribbon and in prompt four cardstock, lots of cardstock and preferably scraps.  Here are my results.

Gathered ribbon and also some as pulls for my hidden journaling that reads - "New Years Eve is also our wedding anniversary. This past New Years Eve was made even more special because we got to celebrate it at home in Barbados with our family and friends. Added bonus...wiggling my toes in the sand at the beach with temps. above freezing."

I used the idea of weaving cardstock strips to make my background and also managed to incorporate the supplies from the first three prompts - patterned paper, brads (metal), and ribbon.  Journaling reads - "The perfect end to a great day spent with friend cruising in Barbados!  "When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon my soul expands in worship of the Creator." ~ Mahatma Gandhi"

Using My Stash

Well at least that is the hope with this new class that I am doing with Shimelle Laine called "Something from Almost Nothing".  Shimelle challenges us through a series of weekly prompts to use the stuff that has been sitting in our stash before it becomes too outdated and then we are not inspired to want to use it.  As part of the class we are also creating a mini book about celebrating life. 

I have been pretty proud of myself as I am actually keeping up with the prompts and it feels awesome to be using my stuff instead of just looking at it all pretty in its various storage containers.  Below is the cover and first page for my album as well as a layout I did for the first prompt.  

Celebrate Life Mini Album (photo by Sheldon)

Layout using metal accents (brads, photo corners, etc.) that I have had in my stash for well over a year if not longer. (Photo by Sheldon)

How have you been using your stash?

Sunrise at Cherry Tree Hill

Today we woke up at 5 am to make the drive to Cherry Tree Hill in the parish of St. Peter in Barbados to capture the sun rising over the Caribbean Sea.

Sunrise at Cherry Tree Hill, Barbados                                                            Photo by Vernell Clouden

"We can only appreciate the miracle of a sunrise if we have waited in the darkness" ~Author Unknown

Harmony
Embracing the Way, you become embraced;
Breathing gently, you become newborn;
Clearing your mind, you become clear;
Nurturing your children, you become impartial;
Opening your heart, you become accepted;
Accepting the world, you embrace the Way.

Bearing and nurturing,
Creating but not owning,
Giving without demanding,
This is harmony.

~LaoTze