An Old-Fashioned Girl

Annie loves vintage fashions. She buys a lot of her clothes at thrift shops, and she occasionally rummages through MY things. She found this dress in my closet, a vintage pumpkin-colored crepe dress from the 1930s. I can't remember where I got it, I've had it a long time, and it's been a LONG time since I've been able to squeeze into it. It fits her delightfully, and she looked so, well, vintage two weeks ago when she wore it to church. Her coloring looked perfect with the dress. The photos I took were with my iPhone, so probably not super quality, but good enough to do a layout about her and her pretty, old-fashioned look.

Mom In Black & White

I entered a photography challenge on 2Ps today. It's a monthly portrait challenge, and although I'm not a professional photographer by any stretch of the imagination, I do occasionally take a decent photo.

This month's challenge is to take an outdoor portrait, and convert it to black and white. I went through the photos I've taken this month, and discovered this lovely, but overlooked shapshot of Mom, taken on July 4th during our little backyard BBQ.  Mom is quite photogenic, although she modestly claims she's no such thing. But we know differently. Mom is truly gorgeous, and her modesty makes her even more beautiful.

Shamelessly Soliciting Votes!

I entered a poster design contest from Veer- a premier website of graphic design yumminess. And of course, this contest requires me to shamelessly solicit votes if I ever hope to win. Making it a popularity contest in reality! I don't claim to be the most popular girl on the planet, but I'm hoping I have enough friends and acquaintances that might help me gather enough votes to stave off embarrassment! You can vote here: My Entry. There are links there so you can see the other entries. They all look pretty amazing, I'm humbled to see so much talent in the world! Voting ends on August 3, so hie you over there and click for me!

Elephant Seals in Paradise

We enjoyed viewing the enormous elephant seals basking in the sun along the coast when we were up in Cambria two weeks ago. They are huge! I hope I was able to convey their size and majesty in this composite layout (combining three photos)!

In a Galaxy Not Far Away

I love designing fun stuff, and invitations are something I seem to get asked to do a LOT. My son and daughter-in-law asked me to design an invitation for our darling Jackson's birthday coming up in a few weeks. He'll be three! Jackson is quite a character, and adores superheroes and Star Wars. Between Superman, Captain America, Spiderman and Darth Vader, he's definitely a kid who loves super powers.

Alec sent me a few photos to use for the invitation. They were all taken with an iPhone, so not really high resolution/ quality for a really sharp image. But that's the fun of designing in comic book style... you can use fun filters to create a fun graphic look regardless of the quality of the original image.

I think it's going to be a great party!

Our Thirty Fourth Year of Memories

This layout was the gift I made for Bruce for our anniversary last week. Each year I do a special layout for our anniversary. I've been making hand-made gifts for Bruce for our anniversary every year since we were married. My first one was a shadow box. Then I made a counted cross-stitch sampler. I've made handmade books, drawings, a box, and countless works of art and photography. When I started digiscrapping in 2006, I began making him layouts, although I made many digital cards and gifts before that time. So, this is the latest in a long line of special anniversary gifts.

For this one, I decided to make one square for each year of our marriage, so 34 different photos. 34 different memories. Since my format divided well for 36 squares, it worked perfectly to have two extra spaces for my little title/ message.

I created the format for this layout a couple of months ago, when I made a CD cover of Annie for my Graphic Design class. I just enlarged the template and added to it. It worked great!

Some of the memories included here are: a trip to Sacramento to the California State Fair last summer, a trip to Texas to visit our kids there, travel to New York and Connecticut in the fall, Thanksgiving, Christmas,  two weekend get-a-ways to Palm Springs, Mom's 100th birthday party,  a few days at the beach, Charlotte, North Carolina,  a Dodger game, our own backyard, and of course: our children and grandsons.

Cambria

Here's my layout about our stay this weekend in Cambria. There were so many great photos to choose from! I made the title from one of my favorite Craftsman-style fonts: P22 Dard Hunter.

I will probably do at least one more, but I wanted to get some of our favorite photos from our anniversary scrapped. You can click on the image for a closer view!

California's Central Coast

Piedras Blancas Lighthouse along California's Central Coast

Sunday was our 34th anniversary, and Bruce surprised me with a trip up the coast to Cambria, a charming little art colony near San Luis Obispo. I love Cambria, and it's been many years since we've been.  He didn't tell me where we were going at all, only asked me to pack a bag, and bring some warm clothes. I thought with the warm clothes we would be going up into the mountains somewhere, and was I ever surprised when we headed up Highway 101! 

He found the most charming bed & breakfast up in the hills above the town. Our room was rustic and sweet. Cambria is full of great shops and galleries, eateries and historic buildings, and we found lots to do. We had a yummy anniversary lunch, then set off to see the sights. We also walked along the beach at sunset, and enjoyed a magnificent dinner at the Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill,  overlooking the ocean.

Yesterday we set off up the coast to check out the elephant seals who lie along the beaches near San Simeon and Hearst Castle. I took dozens and dozens of photos! We looked at the Piedras Blancas lighthouse from afar, then drove up to Ragged Point for lunch and more sightseeing. We also took a hike to a waterfall further up the coast, which was quite taxing on my elderly legs. We were exhausted, but excited to have seen so many beautiful places in two days!

Of course, layouts are coming. I'll just share one of my favorite photos from yesterday with you!

A Visit to Olvera Street

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours browsing around Olvera Street, a historic Mexican street in downtown Los Angeles. I've been going to Olvera Street since I was a tiny girl, and it's comforting how little things have changed through the years. It's just one of those rare places that doesn't get bigger and more expensive, nor does it seem to get run down and tacky. (Ok it's a little tacky, but that's the charm). The merchandise doesn't change all that much from year to year, and you can always count on it to be a great place to buy huaraches, or Mexican pottery, or embroidered peasant blouses, or taquitos. It's colorful, and an awesome place to take pictures. Lots of textures, colors, folk art, weathered brick, 150 year old buildings, and of course, people!

I was so pleased to see the beautiful murals painted by Leo Politi many years ago, of the traditional blessing of the animals in Olvera Street. I'm not sure what year it was painted, but I'm sure at least 30 years ago. It looked lovely!

Independence Day

We had a very nice, peaceful, low-key 4th of July. Although I took a few photos,  I'm not sure if I'll turn them into a layout.  But I did enjoy creating this layout for a challenge on 2Ps, the challenge was to do a layout with Independence as the theme.

The photos that I combined together for this layout were all taken by me, the artwork was from the Huntington Library, and the flag is our own, in front of the house.  (There is actually a second painting blended into the background, it's a scene of beautiful hills- but it's hard to see!)  I must say, the spacing of the lines from the Declaration of Independence, and how it worked with the painting of George Washington was completely accidental. I was surprised to see how perfectly the lines of type worked with his mouth and chin!

I love the words of Lee Greenwood's song. I'm definitely a fan of America, and American Independence!

Yes, I Do Cute!

I do draw cute stuff, but not usually THIS cute! This is a design I did for a friend for her daughter's baby shower invitation. Done in Illustrator, which I am definitely NOT an expert in! But I thought it came out rather well.

Happy Independence Day!

I love the 4th of July, love the flags, love the fireworks, love the idea of BBQs, parades, and patriotism. Our 4th will be low-key today, but I wanted to share this photo I took this morning when I put our flag out.

I love the words of our national anthem:

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

A Tribute

Yesterday, my sister Lynne and I took Mom out to Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery, where my Dad is buried. Dad passed away ten years ago last Friday. We always take Mom this time of year,  she enjoys sitting at Dad's grave, and reminiscing about his life and adventures. I was so touched as I watched her gently rubbing his gravestone, I just had to take a photo of her sweet 100-year old hands touching his name.  I thought you might enjoy it too.

I took other photos too, of course, I'll add a couple of them for you to enjoy. Mom is doing great, feeling much better after her hospitalization. Isn't she awesome? (And stylish! Look at those cute sandals and hat!)

The Huntington Library

Yesterday was Bruce's birthday, and I surprised him with a little outing to the wonderful Huntington Library and Gardens, in San Marino. We both grew up near the Huntington, and went there as children on school field trips, but although I have been many times since, Bruce hadn't been for many years. It was a magnificent day! We are so lucky here in Southern California- much of the rest of the country is sweltering and miserable, and we have beautiful weather.

We only went into one of the galleries, but we enjoyed a wonderful exhibit of the art of Roger Madearis, an American Regionalist painter. Mr. Madearis was a student of the renowned Thomas Hart Benton, and created wonderful egg tempera paintings, lithographs and graphite drawings in his meticulous and creative style. I fell in love with his paintings and drawings!

The flowers in the gardens were in full bloom- everything from wildflowers to roses, to the flora of Australia and the Southwest. We especially loved the Japanese garden, with the lovely ponds, koi, waterfalls, and magnificent arched bridge.

I hope you enjoy my layout, you can click on the image for a closer view.

Below are a few more photos from the amazing gardens: