A weekend crop continued... and my layouts that I completed or started while there, 14 pages in all! Utilizing mostly Inspired Inc and 3 Birds Design products.

Our AWESOME hostess, Jan!  Great smiles from a great lady!  The poor girl didn't get to play much, because she was always catering to us all weekend!

Sorry about the exit sign, Norma! lol  Great shot of you.

A highlight of the crop, for me, was when I was told Dakota could come for a quick visit!  I always miss my best cropping buddy when I'm away.  Thank you Michael and Wesley, for bringing her by on your way to the beach.

2nd evening's dinner... yum!  Pizzas and ice cream sundae bar.

The brownies with frosting were also killer!  How many hours do I need to walk,  in order to 'walk' this off???

Mary hand colored some gems to customize them to her project.

     If I haven't said it enough yet, we had a TON OF FUN during Jan's crop.  It was awesome that we had a variety of things to keep us not only crafting and enjoying a lot of great food, but throughout the weekend she held a lot of door prize drawings, plus a GRAND PRIZE drawing, a bag chock full of goodies!  She was also really generous with awarding us 'extra' tickets if we demoed a technique or a product, if we made something for someone (thank you teenagers!), if we brought chairs or snacks, and on and on.

Guess who won the GRAND PRIZE DRAWING... the scrapbooking NEWBIE!  I'm JEALOUS!

      Now for the layouts I completed, and some that I started...14 PAGES total!!!  Can you say "Who completed the most pages?"  HMMM?

Skating at Johnny's with the Cub Scouts.

The kit I used, which won't post in the correct orientation lol

Another Inspired Inc kit, this time for 4th of July, 2014.

Another celebration memorialized with a kit from Inspired Inc.  This time, it's Dad's birthday!

This still needs a little somethin' somethin'.... perhaps a doily, lace, and a few flowers.  It's in my bag for the next crop.

Thanks to Jan, who helped me amend my title.

      I mixed and matched products for the layout above, "Cats watching birds watching birds".  Some Prima flowers and branched embellishment, 3 Birds red tickets and flourish (more classics) on first page, and I believe the papers are from Around The Block.
   Now for some 'classic' (as in more than 5 years old?) 3 BIRDS products used to complete a few pages!  I used a sticker from the BLING EXTREME kit, one of the FIRST 3 Birds kits I ever purchased,  and papers from the SO MUCH SPARKLE kit.  The newest 3 Birds product that I used here was the white lace type border on the first page.  Even that is from a couple (or perhaps a few) years ago lol.  Let's just say I have a hard time parting with my 3 Birds products.  If you still love it, why sell or give it away, right?

      The photo above shows one of the papers I was considering for the layout below.  I wanted to feature Oreo. the tuxedo kitty we chose to adopt out after 13 months of trying to help him get along with our other 2 cats, and vice versa.  It still hurts my heart that we had to do that, in addition to the fact that the new family LOST him after only 2-3 days!  I reposted his adoption flier as well as other photos I had of him, Michael looked for him near their home on his way to and from work, he and Wesley looked on their way to their outings, and Michael and I looked on our way from Christmas dinner with his coworkers.  Finally, HE returned to them, nearly 3 months later! The husband had seen him 2 weeks earlier but thought it was the neighbor's cat.   I pray that if he is not comfortable with that family, that he finds someone who he IS happy with.
     Because I wanted to feature Oreo here, I chose to go with a black and white layout.  I knew I had a fair amount of papers and products from 3 Birds that might work well with the photos and story.

Yes, some CLASSIC 3 BIRD products!

More CLASSIC 3 BIRDS products used.

I decided to add a splash of orange to draw your eye to Squirrel, who Oreo was 'dusting' during his excitement!

I also wanted to work more black and white embellishments and a feather to help tell the avian-loving story.

     The only non-3 Birds products used on this layout were my adhesives (Hermafix repositionable dotto, and Glossy Accents for the heavier items, black pen for journaling, signing and dating my layouts, craft feathers from WalMart, and the perching chickadees which I cut out from a My Mind's Eye paper.   Even the foam adhesive that I used to lift the chickadees came from a 3 Birds kit.

   

   My last 2 page layout goes back a few years, to when Wesley's artwork was chosen to be used in the local library's CALENDAR!  More 'classic' 3 Birds products helped me document this, covering both the celebration theme and the topic of his artwork, our local CAR FERRY, which is the LAST coal powered ship on the GREAT LAKES and our LIGHTHOUSE.   I wanted to use the colors from his clothing as well as his sketch.  The "Celebrate" diecut title called out to me, plus it was RED, which worked perfectly for his shirt and artwork highlight colors.  I also had a BLACK version of the same diecut, so I layered them, again to highlight colors in the photos.  The marine life paper also contained the blue of the water in his sketch, as well as the blacks and reds.  Although it's not an artistic themed paper, I think it works well here, as it relates to the aquatic nature of his artwork.

    And there you have it... 14 pages! Ten were completed, 4 were started before I left!  WooHOO!

Here are links to some 3 Birds Design and Inspired Inc products, currently available on HSN.COM  .

http://www.hsn.com/products/3-birds-studio-all-seasons-themed-page-mat-kit/1826433 

 I used a 'classic' version of one of these kits just a few weeks ago, on my "MY HERO" Cub Scout layout.

     These can be used in either pocket scrapbooking or standard paper scrapbooking:

    

  http://www.hsn.com/products/3-birds-studio-for-all-seasons-themed-card-kit/7426366?query=7426366&isSuggested=True&

    

     Some of the kits that I've been using during crops to get a lot of pages done without having to search through my stash as much:

http://www.hsn.com/products/inspired-inc-top-page-layouts-kit/7310252

  

     What can I say?  I have a weakness for 3D embellishments, and 3 Birds and Inspired Inc have some great ones!

http://www.hsn.com/products/inspired-inc-3d-sticker-embellishment-kit/7426378

A weekend crop with local friends, old & new.

     I was invited to a crop at our lss (local scrapbook store) and had so much fun that I went back for the 3rd day, which was unplanned.  It started at 5pm Friday and ran until 11 that evening; Saturday 10-10.  When I arrived an hour late Saturday morning, I found out that they had been discussing coming for a THIRD day!  THAT'S how much fun we had! 
     Jan, our 'local' CTMH consultant hosted the crop, provided a lot of goodies and door prizes, and some great food.  We received extra door prize tickets for bringing chairs or snacks, plus random tickets for good deeds, ideas, etc.

Norma was the first to pay for the crop, so she got an extra special goody bag!

Part of the gang...

I made several new crafty friends that weekend! Mary invited several family members, and they were a hoot!

I

HMMM... TREATS? lol

The rest of the gang...plus me behind the camera of course.

Georgia made gorgeous vellum butterflies!

DOOR PRIZES!

Sharin' the craftin' love...

Georgia earned extra tickets by doing a bow tying demo.

Group hugs.... Our hostess Jan, Venisa, Georgia and Norma.

    

My best buddy is a.... Mala-Shee-Usky mix?

     Some recent photos of my beloved Dakota, who we believe will be 9 years old this year.  We adopted her 6 years ago ( I can't believe it's been that long!), from our County Animal Control Office.  She was listed as a husky, but as soon as I saw her, even in her thin condition, I knew she was much too large framed to even be a MALE husky.  She is approximately 6 feet long when she stretches out, and currently weighs 96 pounds.  I would like to get her weight down between 80-90 pounds, as I think she looked her healthiest weight at that time.

                          Christmas morning 2013, enjoying her favorite thing...fresh snow!

    
     Wesley must compete with Dakota for a spot in mom's chair, and on this day, he lost out.  Yes, he managed to sneak in, but only by squeezing himself UNDERNEATH her!  I bought this chair-and-a-half when Wesley was only a few months old, and at that time, both he and I were much smaller.  Eleven years later, add a multicoated "puppy" and it's overflowing.
    Ever since seeing ads about DNA tests for your dog, I have wanted to follow up on that idea.  I never had one done on my previous husky mix, and greatly regret it, as it may have prevented some behavioral issues I had with Orca.  As my birthday gift to myself this year, I finally completed one for Dakota.
     As she gained weight and her beautiful coat filled out about a year after her adoption, my husband began saying that he thought she looked like a collie, due to her 'cowl neck' fur that appeared.  A few years later, others had also mentioned that.  Due to her large skeletal structure, coloration, tail display, and personality, I thought she was a Malusky (Malamute-Husky).  When people commented about her size or beautiful coat and personality, I began telling people we thought she was a Mal-Ollie (Malamute Collie).
    So...the results?  Three generations on one side are Alaskan Malamute-Mix, and the other parentage is 3 generations of..... OLD ENGLISH SHEEPDOG-HUSKY!  WHAT?????

                                                     Malamute Husky mix sample photo

                                        Old English Sheepdog Husky mix sample photo

      Some people ask why I bothered to spend the money & time to run her DNA samples.... So I and our vets now have a much better idea of what to expect in regards to her possible health issues and behavior/personality.  
     I love my Mala-Shee-Usky mix!