The Things That Caught my Younger Eye

We recently got a new scanner (as evidenced in the two layouts below) and I've been scanning old photos & negatives like mad. Yesterday I unearthed these old negatives from 1975- my senior year in college. I had been taking a few photography classes for my major, but if my memory serves me, I didn't take any that year. But I always seemed to have my trusty Yashica SLR at hand. And naturally, it was always stocked with black & white film. The types of things I love to photograph today aren't much different from the things I shot back then: old, rustic and rusty barns, fences and sheds, architectural details and interesting buildings (best if they were really old), and people: roommates, friends, random old people, kids, and other interesting types. I spent one afternoon in a Provo bar, taking photos of a bunch of old men playing pool. So, I thought I ought to give them a nice home, and a way to remember the things that caught my younger eye. (you can click for a closer view)

Who Knew?

I get a charge out of old pictures. Really, I think if we had taken the sheer numbers of photos 'way back when, as we do today, perhaps we wouldn't be so enamored with old photographs. I think just their scarcity makes them such treasures. I don't know if these old photos of me are treasures (kinda doubt it- after all, that Buster Brown haircut is truly gag-awful) but when I look at the expression on my face, and think back to that time, it warms my heart. The photos were taken July of 1977, just a week or two before I started dating Bruce. I had my friend Gary Watson take them because I had just gotten contact lenses, after 15 years of wearing glasses. Long after that first date, Bruce told me that had I still be wearing glasses back in July of '77, he probably never would have asked me out. Hmmm, good thing I was nuts for him, or I might have socked him! But something about that glasses-free face attracted me to him and I've been forever grateful.

Fauntie

One of my relatives who was especially dear to me was my Grandfather Clark's niece Fauntie. She was the daughter of Grandpa's much older half-sister Elizabeth, and lived near Grandma & Grandpa in Holllywood. Fauntie was known for her kind and loving heart, and her beautiful sewing. Most of my cousins received quilts when they were married or had babies, but when Bruce & I were married, Fauntie was very old and frail. Our wedding reception was the last time most of us saw Fauntie, as she died just a few weeks later. I wasn't left out of the quilt department though. We did inherit a small patchwork baby quilt, which has been used by all 4 of our children, and today is still treasured by our youngest daughter Annie. It's frayed, worn, torn, and covered with glitter from Annie's projects. She loves it dearly, and I wanted her to know about the precious hands that made it.

I discovered these lovely images of Faunte by accident- I recently acquired the negatives from my Grandparent's Golden Wedding Anniversary party in 1962. The photographer had Fauntie pose outside the hall where the party was held, and I'm so glad he did. Her sweet face, seen clearly and in such detail, envelops me in warmth and love. As I scanned the negatives, I was delighted to find such a treasure! It made all the hours and hours of work well worth the time.

Fauntie was born in Twin Groves, Idaho in 1895 and passed away in Hollywood, California in 1978.

Rock-A-Bye-Baby

My son Alec & his sweet wife Alicia are expecting their first baby in early August, and I was asked to create the invitation to the baby shower. Now I have to add the disclaimer that this design was conceived by the cute little couple themselves, (notice the tricky insertion of the word 'conceived'!) and not by me. They gave me a rough idea of what they wanted and I proceeded to give it the old Stef treatment. They wanted a bass guitar. I found a baby blue one, how perfect! They wanted a few stars sprinkled around. Reference was made to perhaps a little skull & crossbones (this is definitely not a cutesy couple). The design just came together pretty quickly. They seemed to like the results. The amazing thing is that I finished it up, including the inside with all the details, and there wasn't one typo! That's pretty much a first for me. I can't tell you how many times I've posted a layout online, only to discover I spelled something wrong, or left out a word, or whatever. It's pretty rare when I get it right the first time!
They loved the font- in case you haven't seen that one, it's called 'Bleeding Cowboys' and it's a fun one when you want a font that's grungy yet elegant. I mean, don't we all have grungy & elegant things we create that need the perfect font?

The Adventures of Little Spock

While we were in Texas, we were able to see our adorable four-year old grandson Aidan. Saturday was a rainy day, so we were unable to take him to the park as we had planned. Thank heaven for the indoor playgrounds at McDonalds & Burger King! As we were sitting there watching Aidan enjoying his ‘white milk’, chicken tenders, and Star Trek toy, Bruce happened to notice the Kid’s Meal bag sitting next to Aidan. The caricature of Mr. Spock looked JUST LIKE AIDAN! From the haircut to his blue shirt, we laughed & laughed. Bruce held up the bag next to Aidan’s face, and I snapped a photo. I’m sure Aidan though we were lunatic grandparents! I couldn’t resist having a little fun with those photos. I want to make sure everyone understands that Aidan has normal ears & eyebrows! (Or at least as normal as the Eskander family gets…. Generally speaking the Eskanders don’t have much in the eyebrow department!)

I did the little drawing of Aidan, and created the ‘SPOCK’ lettering with the magic of the polygonal lasso tool in Photoshop.

Of Peacocks and Water Lillies

While in Texas, Ian and Jessica took us to the lovely nature preserve where they will be married in October. We were fascinated by the peacocks, and followed them around hoping to catch a good photo of their lovely feathers. Really, peacocks are the most amazing bird... can you imagine what primitive man must have thought when seeing peacocks for the first time? What the heck? They are just so fascinating to watch, and their squawking honk is ear-blasting to hear. Alas, none of them dropped any feathers for me to bring home. I had to be content with a few photos. Ok, 200, but who's counting?

The Only Graduate That Matters

Last night was our son Ian's graduation from Texas State University. We are the proud parents of the Only Graduate that Matters! (hence the filter work on the left side of the photo). He graduated magna cum-laude, and we are so proud of all his hard work. He's a dedicated scholar, and plans on a long academic career, probably as a professor down the line.

I love Digital Scrapbooking!

Last night we were on a plane from LA to Austin, TX, and it was so fun to pull out my laptop and create a layout while we were a zillion feet above the earth. I'm sorry, but I just can't imagine hauling out the paper supplies and glue and scrapping on the teeny tiny little pull-out table. (although in the not-to-distant past I did work on illustration projects and toy deadlines while flying- pre laptop of course). Since I didn't have the internet while flying, there were no other distractions. I couldn't check the message boards, my email, YouTube, or FaceBook. Just me & my photos!

Here's my creation. Bruce took some wonderful photos of the many flowers we had on Mother's Day. Since we had 17 people over for the event, there were flowers galore. Flowers for me. Flowers for my Mom. We got some pretty shots of the arrangements, and I wanted to do something simple to feature them. Here you go! (You can click on the image to get a larger view if you like)

There's a lot to be said for COLOR!

I regularly participate in Color Combos Galore- a website where they have a weekly scrapbooking color challenge. They give you 4 colors, and you design your layout page around those colors. I really liked the color combo for last week, and as I madly hunted for photos that would work well with the four colors, I came up with this layout. The background really was fun- I simply created my own pink & orange gradient then laid the flower photo on top & used a blending mode (soft light) I added one of my favorite textures, it was super quick & fast.
I hope this week's layout comes together as easily! I have so much to scrap, but alas, so little time!

Hey, on the news front, we're heading to Texas tomorrow- our oldest son Ian is graduating from Texas State University- Magna Cum Laude, I might add. We are so proud of him! I'm sure Texas will give us LOTS of opportunities to take fabulous photos. PLUS, we get to see our sweet little grandson Aidan, who is 4 1/2. We haven't seen him for an entire year and we are so missing him! Can't wait!

The Bluebird Cafe

The other day my sisters & Mom came to visit me at work, get the grand tour of my office, and go to lunch. I picked the Bluebird Cafe- a cute eatery near my work, with a lovely dining patio. Scrumptious food, lots of female gabbing, and a welcome break from the workaday world. Although the logo for the cafe was cute, somehow, I needed another bluebird on there somewhere. I found a stock photo online of a bluebird, but I always hate to use someone else's pictures, so I took this one and used a series of filters to get a little more unique look.

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO! (and Weekly Bright Idea!)

Yes, today is Cinco de Mayo, and contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is NOT Mexican Independence Day. It commemorates the day Mexico defeated the French army in Puebla, Mexico in 1862. In fact, Cinco de Mayo is not really even celebrated in Mexico, except regionally. It began in California in 1863, and has been celebrated here since then. My personal opinion is that it is a great day to eat tacos and other Mexican delicacies. So, my bright idea for the day, and for the week, is to 'andale' over to Taco Bell, or your finest restaurant serving south-of-the -border cuisine, and celebrate in style! My mouth is watering already!
My layout honors one of my favorite eateries: La Salsa. None of the La Salsa restaurants can touch the one on PCH in Malibu- it has a giant Mexican looming over it. I'm going to stop on my way home and pick up one of their fabulous burritos! Or tacos! Or both! Magnifico!

Happy National Scrapbooking Day

I had to join in the festivities... I created this layout for a NSD challenge at Two Peas in a Bucket, the challenge was to go crazy with circles, so I did.
The photos were taken at the beautiful Castellammarre area between Pacific Palisades & Malibu along the Southern California coast. This area includes the Getty Villa (the large photo) and the site of the former Thelma Todd Sidewalk Cafe (remember my layout about her mysterious death?). In the hills above PCH are some beautiful homes- most are Spanish or Mediterranean style, with a few ultra modern and ranch style homes thrown in. It has been fun discovering the little winding streets, with some incredible architectural finds, like tiled turrets, funny arched garage doors, and beautiful decorative tile and wood work. Many of the gardens are exquisite.

Macaroni Man

One day a few weeks ago, I was driving down Venice Blvd. in Culver City, on my way to lunch. I happened to glance up at the top of a building that housed a shopping center, and saw a very large sign with the logo of Globe A-1. The familiar red and gold seal gave me a jolt of recognition- this was something I had seen so often in my childhood- Globe Mills was one of my Dad's big clients. Dad worked in the grain business, the business of his own father, his whole life. When he graduated from college in 1937, he worked for several mills in Utah and Idaho, eventually owning and operating Vale Grain & Feed in Vale, Oregon where I was born. In 1954, our family moved from Vale to Los Angeles, where Dad went into business with his father, operating Clark Grain Co. out of an office in downtown LA. Eventually, when Grandpa retired, Dad brought his business home; working out of our den in South Pasadena, making his rounds of the LA baking companies and macaroni companies that were his clientele. I remember their names: the Los Angeles Baking Company, Angelus Macaroni Company, Anthony Macaroni Company, American Beauty Pasta, and of course, Globe A1. Dad would bring home boxes of pasta (we didn't call it 'pasta' then, we just called it macaroni or spaghetti). When I went away to college, I always had plenty of 'noodles' to share with my roommates.
Back to the sign: a few days ago I finally decided to photograph the big Globe A1 sign on the roof. I drove up a long ramp to the roof of the building, and discovered that the beautiful sign was actually a lovely HUGE mosaic. I took a number of views of it, and decided to do a layout about my Dad's business. Funny how a familiar logo can bring back so many memories. I'm glad I also had one of my Dad's old business cards, to add a little realism. The photo of my Dad was taken sometime in the early 50s at a Grain Exchange meeting. I have an old 1940 Los Angeles Business Directory, and I found the Globe A1 ad inside. I plan on eating the macaroni sometime soon.