Scrap weekend

This past weekend I had the pleasure of traveling north and spending it at a cabin rented by some scrappy friends and me. More photos of that weekend to come. Also coming are some layouts I made--I finished 5 pages completely and almost finished another 6, for which I lacked supplies. Here's some of what I produced:



I love these photos and made a page about my son's love of trees. The paper from GCD Studio from their Soul Food line is so perfect, I didn't need to add much else.

I did add stitching, of course, using my Bazzill flourish stitching template.


I found this photo when editing photos on PSE recently. It's been so cold, and spring is in permanent delay here in Minnesota, so I decided to print it 8x12 and make a page about looking forward to summer. It will come. I think. (I should mention it snowed Sunday when we were at the cabin.)


I layered some of the goodies from the April Studio Calico kit Singing in the Rain. Let me tell you, we've had so much rain we're not singing but griping about the rain and cold. Well, it could be worse. The snow could have stuck.

Guess why I put that saying up there?

This next page I made the journaling for before I left. It's the page I meant to do about Dominic's autism from his point of view. He helped me write the part about what he likes:

I used the Crate Paper Toy Box collection for this, plus an old piece of Cosmo that had bubble sheet paper on it.

A fun cluster next to a winning smile. He used those chewies for a while, then stops, then starts, then stops. I'm not sure why--Stress? Sensory needs? Right now he's stopped. His sensory needs are being met by bike riding and tree climbing. And mom heart attack inducing, I guess.

I cut the big title letters out of a piece of patterned paper. It didn't have all the letters I needed, so I also used letter stickers from the same line. It fits with the title thematically, too.


Here I am, driven to add strips of ribbon and paper. Again.

The journaling is meaningful to me. I haven't shown the whole thing to Dominic; like the last LO about his autism, I'll let him read it--and correct me, I'm sure--when he reads his albums again.

I'll try to post the journaling later--I saved it on my husband's laptop. If you click on the layouts, you can make them big enough to read (I hope!). ETA: Here's the journaling:

My name is Dominic and I have autism.

I have some of the symptoms you think of

when you think of autism.

I talk to myself sometimes.

I appreciate the visual easier than the verbal.

I have trouble playing with other kids.

I am different, though.

I don’t resist human contact; I crave it.

I’m rarely bothered by noise, but I am calmed by it,

especially music.

I don’t have one big thing I love, but many:

Star Wars, maps, fencing, swimming, and violin.

I like being around other people,

but I don’t know how to talk about other people’s interests

or know how to play with them.

I get angry when I don’t get my way

because right now I can’t see anyone else’s perspective.

That’s a part of my disability,

and I’m working on it, but it’s hard.

I’m seven years old.

Because I have autism, I hope you understand me.

I have trouble processing verbal directions.

It’s really tiring for me, so if I get cross with you,

please try to understand.

Interacting socially doesn’t come naturally to me,

so I appreciate help and patience when I get frustrated.

I want to do well, but I’m stubborn,

so I might resist your help.

Please try to be patient with me

and help me learn to be patient.

My greatest gifts are my energy, my enthusiasm,

my creativity, and my brain.

Please recognize those strengths

as you help me manage despite my disability.

And now for some shopping discounts:




I fell behind in posting discount codes to match spring training at Ella--here's a boatload of terrific books. The sketch book and design book are among my all-time favorites. Here's the codes: HAPPYDESIGN for Design Workshop, SPRINGSKETCHES for Stretch Your Sketches, SPRTEXTTRKS for Text Tricks, and SPRPICTPERFECT for Picture Perfect.

Each code will give you $1.00 of the selected text--again, I'm not sure if you can use more than one code per transaction, but it would be worth separate transactions, let me tell you. The codes expire May 15th.