Capt Jack?

Oh my poor little neglected blog!! I don't know what my deal has been lately. I've actually had pages I can share with you all, I've just had this mental block about doing so. Maybe I'm realizing blogging isn't as important to me as it once was. No worries for now, I'm not planning on deleting it or anything. Just realizing that there has been a definitive shift in my priorities. And there has to be, once you start working, you have "more important" demands on your time. It's all about choices. Like today! I really want to scrap and get in a final challenge or two for the 2Ps Stamping event going on. But then I also really want to re-organize my space, buy some new storage, move things around. {sigh} There just aren't enough hours in the day!!

But on to happier, less complicated and infinitely more cuter things :) Urijah got to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa earlier this month. I know I've mentioned before but my mom has this affinity for all things skeletal and pirate-like, and she has now even got Urijah mixed up in it! She found these cute little skeleton "pjs" (what she's calling them) that she had him running around in all weekend.

Isn't he the cutest little skeleton/pirate you ever did see?! I got him that foam pirate hat from Michael's awhile back. It was just something silly that I knew my mama would appreciate. Never did I realize he would like wearing it! He kept it on all day I'm told. Such an accomplishment for a (then) 17 month old!

For this page, I had some fun with my circle punches, my must have scrapbooking tool. Just went to town on the latest Martha Stewart Halloween paper pack. I'd never seen a 4x12 mat stack before, but for all the different paper options I got, and for the clearance price, I was very pleased.

I also did a bit of misting with silver Maya Mist. It's subtle on the black background but I liked the extra sparkle it added to the page. Question though, how do all of you Glimmer Misters keep your nozzles from getting clogged? This is why I'm not a fan of Glimmer Mist and why the Silver Maya mist is the only metallic I have. All the little glitter particles get caught up in there I'm sure.

Well, I suppose that's all for now. I'll hopefully be updating more this weekend. I have plenty of little projects to share. Happy Halloween yall!!

xxbesos

j.leija

Hybrid: Journaling Strips

Hello Dearies! It's me again. Shocker, I know. No one has missed scrapbooking and this blog more than me, that's for sure. But I finally feel like I'm getting a handle on that tricky work/life mix that has eluded me these past few months. I'm all moved into my new apartment, still in the process of unpacking and decorating, but I'll get there. And yesterday, I organized (as best I could) all of my scrappy goodness!! Thus, I was finally able to take some time to sit down and scrap.

Even without work and all of the things I've been doing, I still haven't felt as inspired to scrap. And I know it's because I'm bored with the troves of old photos I have, just waiting to be put on a page. They aren't inspiring me at the moment. So when Urijah came to visit last weekend and we got the chance to take him to the pumpkin patch, my scrapbooking was reinvigorated.

So here's my happy little pumpkin page! I had to compartmentalize my life a bit, and created this page for two challenges I'm issuing this month. One for Scrapbook Challenges, the other for Ch{all}enge Masters.

This month, I get to issue the By the Numbers challenge over at Scrapbook Challenges. Typically, I'm suppose to provide a "formula" or "recipe" of elements to include on your page, but, I want to do things a bit differently this month. Since signing up to do this challenge, that old song "1..2..3..4..5! Senses working over time" has been on repeat in my head. I looked it up, it's originally done by XTC but I know the covered version by Mandy Moore. I thought now would be a great time to challenge you all to create a page using the theme of senses. You don't have to use all of the senses, just pick one.

Urijah was only interested in patting the pumpkins, on our trip to the patch. He'd touch them and thump them and that was about as high as his level of interest would go. But now I have all of these great photos capturing him using his sense of touch. I choose a few choice tactile embellishments to highlight my touch theme. Like that great braided ribbon done by Making Memories. It's all nubby and a bit rough. I also used some textured cardstock and those glitter accents have a grainy feel to them.

So that's your challenge fellow Scrapbook Challengers! Create a page highlighting one of the five senses: touch, see, hear, smell, taste.

And now on to the Ch{all}enge Master portion of this duo challenge!! Since I'm the hybrid diva, I had to add some hybrid elements to the page. This month's challenge is a tried and true method of many a scrapbooker, the use of journaling strips. I had fun with these, varying the fonts, bolding things here and there, and then placing them in a non-linear way to emphasize the light-heartedness of the story.

I love how fonts can be a great visual element for emphasizing the story you're trying to tell. I wouldn't be doing my hybrid diva duties justice, if I didn't include a challenge using the variety and versatility of fonts!! So go to town! Mix them, bold some, italic others. Add Wingdings. And when you've cut them up and are placing them on your page have fun with spacing. Wrap them around a photo. Link them with eyelets. Get crafty!

Just to make it clear, this month's Hybrid Challenge for my fellow Ch{all}enge Masters is to incorporate journaling strips onto your page.

So that's the bit about the challenges, now on to the bit about the photos. As the journaling above tells you, we took Urijah to the pumpkin patch, only vaguely caught his interest and then lost it completely when he saw a dog being walked on the street. He loves dogs!! He set off trucking on his tiny little legs after it, as soon as he noticed it on the sidewalk. After that, he couldn't be less interested in those crazy orange things. But my mama was happy that we at least got a photo or two with him and some pumpkins.

Aaannd...I feel like I've done enough talking in this scattered and random post! So I'll just about stop now. I only want to add that if someone creates a page that's good for both challenges, link it up in the comments and you'll enter in for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate to the online retailer of your choice! Just as my little treat for the brave soul that chooses to tackle both :) And when you think about it, they aren't to difficult to combine. Just saying...

Happy Scrapping yall!!

xxbesos

j.leija