pages of late

I was thinking about using these to enter the master's contest, but I didn't get a fifth layout completed in time. Everything was made using the Pages by Design templates. I am okay with not entering this year because I know I can put together a stronger entry than this. I just have to start earlier next year! I am hoping to see a Pukester sweep again in the final calls, though, so I am happily cheering on all my Pukester budies who DID get their entry in on time this year!


This was going to be my joy and comfort page. I really do like how it came out, and the scan doesn't do it justice. I called Jack on his cell when he was at Walmart and sent him on a search for pink ric rac... LOL... what a good sport he is. He found this chenille stuff, which was a really fun texture that I hadn't counted on! The title is strips of cardstock and Creative Imaginations epoxy stickers, I used Kalaidescope papers by MME, a Creative Imaginations priceless rub-on, and a Junkitz token. Journaling reads:A trip to Pebbles and then to the bank wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t stop in the bread store and get a complimentary slice of freshly baked bread with butter. It doesn’t matter which of the kids I have with me, they all insist on this part of the routine. It is always a pleasant break; a chance to sample new recipes, chit chat about our lives, and buy some fresh bread to bring home. Our sidetrips to the bread store have become as much of a family tradition as any of our holiday traditions are. I love these everyday moments that shape and mould our family routines. I appreciate the simple joy in life, and the kids’ reactions to things like trips to the breadstore tell me that they do as well. Enjoying some homemade yumminess together on our errand runs is more than a sampling of some creature comforts. It is a bonding experience that builds lifetime memories. The weekly shopping and banking are family necessities, but the moments in between, the slices of life if you will, are the things that the kids will remember and share with their children and grandchildren. The “big” things in life are important.. births, weddings, epiphanies, etc. It is the everday little things, though, that bring me the most joy and comfort, and assure that life, whatever it brings, always goes on.


These were two of my fvorite photos from St. Augustine. They were cut off in the scan, but there are some Jolees ink bottles in the bottom right corner.LOL.. part of my time issue with this layout was that I didn't want to use 18th century ink bottles on my 16th century page. It was a simple layout... new Basic grey papers, Doodlebug stitch rub-ons,a little jute tied on the swoop corners, and I used homemade rub-ons to make the title before I printed the journaling over it. Journaling reads: It was a special treat for me to sit and watch this real life history professor write my name with authentic ink in the 16th century style, and to hear him tell me what life would have been like for a 16th century scribe. He teased me a little about my Anglicized version of “Wellborn,” but mostly we talked about kings and queens, church and scribes, and the perils and trials of colonial life in an unknown land. It was a rich learning experience for me, and someday I want to return to St. Augustine to explore the Spanish colony completely.



I had fun making this layout. I took thumbnail prints with me to St. Paul and had it all planned out before I got home. The papers are Rusty Pickle and Pressed Petals. Filmstrip frames, flower, paperclip, and photo anchors are Deluxe Designs, and the chipboard letters are homemade with MM foam stamps coated in UTEE. Journaling reads: When I was a little girl, my dad called my mom “”"Ladybug" and I was his “"Littlebug".” Throughout my life I have used ladybugs as my own personal insignia. Then my girls were born and they became my "Littlebugs" and my“"Babybug" . I have dressed them in ladybug clothes, decorated their rooms with ladybug themes, and essentially passed my own insignia onto them. I took these photos ofBeth to show her soft downy hair before her first haircut, and it hit me that this is my last baby, my last little girl, my last babybug. The ladybug naming has stopped for this generation. Someday, though, maybe my littlebugs will have little girls, and I can call them my “"grandbaby bugs."” Don’t grow up too fast though, Babybug.
I can wait patiently for that day!




This one has more homemade chipboard letters, but this time I coated them with shimmery modeling paste and the effect is really cool in real life. too bad a lot of it gets lost in translation during the scanning process. I made the clock with cardstock, modeling paste, MM rub-ons, Creative Impressions mini paperclips, and real clock hands. I can't remember who the paper is from. Journaling reads: If the midnight hour is striking, it is a fair certainty that Kyle will be climbing in the bed between Jack and I before too long. He has been doing this for the last couple of months, and I find it very endearing. I know it is just a stage, that these few hours of snuggling in the middle of the night will come to an end, but it is a stage I will cherish while it lasts. I don’t know if it is because he wakes up and is afraid of the dark, or if he is more comfortable in our bed, or if it is just because he needs a little bit of extra time with us. It doesn’t really matter, though. I just know that when he spoons up next to me and pulls my arm over his chest to cuddle him close my heart melts. The rhythm of his breathing lullabies me back to sleep, and reminds me that time is marching by. I miss the baby that he was, I enjoy the child he is, and I look forward to the man he will become. But for now, in this moment, he is my little midnight visitor, and if this is the extra TLC he needs right now, then I will let him have it.