Winter Scrapbook Layouts

 In winter of 1959 we had a huge snowstorm.  Sandra and I went outside to play.  It was so much fun to play in the snow!

I used Carta Bella All Bundled Up Collection kit for the background papers and stickers and Bazzill cardstock for the photo mats.  

Christmas Scrapbook Layouts

 

Published!

 

Published in Creative Scrapbooker magazine!

I love to scrapbook and every three months I submit all my finished layouts for the upcoming seasonal call for submissions for that season's magazine.  I love submitting my layouts and I have been published three times in Creative Scrapbooker magazine!  It makes me so happy to have my favorite Canadian magazine like my work enough to print it!  You can visit my Facebook group at One Nana Two Girls Scrapbook to view many of my layouts!  

Autumn Scrapbook Layouts

 Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.

I love the photos of Karina and Lauren at Washington and Jefferson College.  Karina started her first year of college and Lauren started her first year of high school!  Lauren went to visit Karina at college for a weekend and they had a wonderful time!  1992 

Winter 1959

 In winter of 1959 we had a huge snowstorm.  Sandra and I went outside to play.  It was so much fun to play in the snow!

I used Carta Bella All Bundled Up Collection kit for the background papers and stickers and Bazzill cardstock for the photo mats.  

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Christmas 1956

 I didn't remember this photo being taken but earlier this year I found it among some older photos.  I was so happy to find this photo of my sister Sandra and I with Santa Claus.  My Mama took us to have this photo taken.  I was thankful the photo had the date!  

I used the Echo Park Paper Company Christmas Cheer Collection kit to complete this heritage layout.  I love Bazzill cardstock to mat photos and journal.  I used the Cricut to write the title on a journaling card from the kit and cut the photo mat.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

 Karina loved playing outside in the snow with Daddy!  This was winter 1978 in the new house.  

I used the Let It Snow Echo Park Paper Collection kit.  I cut the pine trees from Bazzill cardstock using the Cricut Explore Air 2.  I love using the Echo park enamel dots for accents. 

 

What a busy day today was!

Today is a chilly one for September.  My husband cleaned the pool this morning so the children can get in as soon as school is over.  It was dirty from the days of rain we had.  He had to clean the filter too.  I love that pool so much!  The new Hinspergers 14 mil solar cover is so much nicer than any others we have bought.  It keeps the pool a lot warmer!  So, tonight I am grilling hot dogs, rosemary potatoes, Blue Lake green beans, watermelon and s'mores.  Kids in the pool quickly and then Isabella heads to band practice.  Thursday dinner during band season is rough.  In fact Monday, Wednesday or Friday are the worst days for dinner.  We have to eat an early light supper as Isabella and JW leave some days at 4:30.  

Tonight we will watch Heartland.  That program is on Hallmark Movies Now and it is our favorite show!  Isabella has some crazy way to drag two episodes in at once so we don't know!  We can only watch one a night because we started with Season One during corona and there are 13 seasons...we are up to season 10.  They are filming season 14 now but if she keeps watching two a night I will run out of shows to watch!  I told her no more after I caught on last night!  Only one show at a time.  LOL!  BTW-have a look at the Heartland shirts my family's company, Southern Style on Fifth Avenue, made for us!  Love them!  I ordered a long sleeve one too!

  

Home for the Holidays

 Christmas 1982 

Christmas at Gram and Pappy Smith's house was the most fun!  We always ate Christmas dinner after opening our gifts.  They bought the BEST gifts!

I used the Christmas Cheer Echo Park Collection kit for the background paper, stickers, and chipboard.  Bazzill green and white card stock made great mats to accent the photos.  The title is from Miss Kate's Cuttables and I used the Cricut to cut it.  

 

Decorating the Tree at Pappy and Grams

 Daddy, Mama and Karina decorating my parent's home for Christmas! They love Christmas!

The Best Blueberry Muffins

I have to share this recipe for the best blueberry muffins I have ever eaten!  I was looking at People Magazine's August 17, 2020 issue.  A food blogger and author of Smitten Kitchen Every Day came up with this recipe after searching for a perfect blueberry muffin.  I have also been searching for a perfect blueberry muffin so I gave these a try.  I will keep this recipe in my favorites file.  The only thing I did not care for was that by the next morning the few that were left over were greasy on the bottom of the paper liner.  If you are not eating them all in one day I would recommend using the paper lined foil wrappers or slide a pretty liner over the greasy paper one.  Also, instead of using turbinado sugar I use the clear chunky sugars that are decorations for baking.  You could even use the colored ones...I almost used purple!  I love the crunchiness of that type of sugar...and so do the children!  You can find the recipe on her website at https://smittenkitchen.com/2010/08/perfect-blueberry-muffins/  I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Scrapbooking Spring photos

Today we scrapbooked spring photos.  It is always hard to scrapbook photos that are not the current season or holiday but if you are sending them to be published you have to work ahead with the magazine's schedule.  

It was fun working with my granddaughter here to give her input and advice!  We got three double page layouts done!  That is my goal amount for each day and I am always glad when I get that many finished.  I am not a fast scrapbooker.  I fuss over the photos and want some Photoshop adjustments.  I stress over the papers and the decorative elements.  I know...it would seem that if is this stressful then why do I do it?  I simply and purely love to scrapbook.  I love my finished pages.  I have decided that it is my job to do this now.  It is my passion!  

Here are my latest pages.  

You can find many of my pages on my Facebook page, 1Nana2GirlsScrapbook. 

Also check out 1 Nana & 2 Girls Scrapbook on Pinterest!

You will find more inspiration on Instagram.

Planning for Christmas album and decorations

Today Lauren and I grabbed our Christmas planners for December Daily and filled in the activities for the month.  If I don't do that now I will have too many days with nothing planned to photograph or journal.  We managed to fill in something for each day but I have to say that this December is not going to be exciting.  Corona is messing with all the activities we usually do.  Sigh.  I really need a vacation!  I have been thinking of November around my birthday and back home before Thanksgiving.  But...where is it safe?  And close enough to drive because I am not flying right now.  

But, back to December Daily.  This is a scrapbook activity that I found on Ali Edwards Facebook page.  She does an album documenting activities in December with her family, travel, activities, etc.  I really liked the idea because I had done an album of my Mama and Daddy's Christmases through the years until I was 20.  That is when I got married so I had photos at our home after that (which are only partly scrapbooked).  I am seriously in love with doing this project every year now.  She takes orders right now for supplies for this activity.  You can find her at aliedwards.com.  She also has a Facebook page.  You can view all her past albums on her website for ideas.  

We also went over some ideas for our Christmas trees.  I think we will put up 25 this year.  That is not set in stone yet.  I have to make my Excel tree spreadsheet soon.  We will start to put them up at the end of September.  I start upstairs in the kids rooms and the loft and in October I will move to the Tennessee room and the Disney room.  Then the lights outdoors go up. I have to wait until after Halloween to do the kitchen as it is where all the Halloween treats and decorations are!  I will decorate the kitchen for Christmas before Thanksgiving.  In fact the only room I leave Thanksgiving decor in is the dining room.  It works for me.  I love having my house glowing with Christmas lights and trees for about 8-10 weeks.  I really love Christmas!  My parents always did over the top Christmas decor and they adored Christmas.  It was inevitable that I would too.

I am collecting my ideas for this year and putting them in my folder.  I have a folder that has 10 pockets and is red.  I labeled each section and I put the information from magazines, ads, addresses, lists, food, etc in each section.  It is actually 13 years old!  LOL!  I empty it each January and put back the things I will need the next year.  It is ready then to collect an idea here and there as the year goes by.  I also use 2 binders for planning, a smaller binder with my spreadsheets in it to use when shopping for new decorations, and my Land's End Christmas medium size open top tote bag.  See the photo of all this here.  Is it too early to think of Christmas?  For some it might be.  But, since my entire home is decorated for Christmas and there are nine of us since Mama and Daddy spend their Christmases in Heaven now it is very helpful for me to plan this way.  We miss my parents a lot at the holidays...and every day.  Planning to follow their traditions makes it easier to get through the Christmas season without so much stress.

Debra's Chocolate Gobs

Today I am sharing my recipe for Chocolate Gobs.  I intended to have Pumpkin Gobs with cream cheese filling but there was not a can of pumpkin to be found!  This is my own recipe from many years ago when the children were small.  I am not fond of  buttercream icing for filling.  Instead, mine is a cooked filling.  After the cookies and filling are cool enough to make the sandwiches I fill them.  Then I wrap them individually in waxed paper and store in the refrigerator.  The cooked filling will not hold up if stored at room temperature.  Here is my recipe and some photos of Debra's Gobs!  Enjoy!

Our Family

 Every family has a story to tell, welcome to ours. 

This is us.  Our life.  Our story.  Our home.

Each day holds an opportunity to create beautiful memories.  We share our stories by creating beautiful and meaningful scrapbook albums.  What we love most about scrapbooking is collecting these memories and stories together. 

Nana has scrapbooked since 1996.  Isabella and Caroline have been interested in photography and art since they were toddlers.  Nana gave them art projects to do and through the years they grew into young artists with a passion for scrapbooking. 

Our pages we share here are from three generations collaborating to create scrapbook albums for future generations…because every picture tells a wonderful story.

Weaver Barn Workshop

Today we drove to Sugarcreek, Ohio to drop off two Anderson windows and a fiberglass Pella door.  We are having a workshop built for John.  It will also hold my John Deere tractor and cart.  We went over the details one last time and paid our deposit.  It will be finished and delivered by the end of August.  We are so excited to have this new building for John's wood projects!  He has a lot of tools and other stuff and he will have fun organizing everything for once!  It is being built by Weaver Barns.  They are a fine company and their products are beautiful!  I want to make an Autumn wreath to hang on the door of his new space.  Recently he has been refinishing my Pennsylvania House furniture.  After Hurricane Ivan I painted several of my pieces creamy white.  I liked it for a while but eventually I decided I wanted it all to match like it was originally.  I am still deciding between Red Mahogany or American Walnut by Old Masters.  I buy my stain from my local Benjamin Moore store called Colorize of Pittsburgh.  It is on Route 19 in Canonsburg, PA. 

When I bought this furniture I ordered the brown cherry finish.  It was also available in the red cherry finish.  The two colors of stain I chose closely match the stains that were originally available on the furniture.  It will be gel stain for the color and the finish coat will be a liquid finish called Masters Armour.  You can call Old Masters at 1-800-747-3436 to find a store near you or check their website at www.oldmasters.com.  I will post the first piece when it is finished!

Freshly painted entry

Freshly painted entry and campfire dinner!

Yesterday was a busy day!  We had our hot Cream of Wheat cereal and hot tea

for breakfast and got to work getting things done!

My first project yesterday was to get my post on here about the big painting job we are doing in our home.  I have happy news...the painting in the entry and upstairs hallway is complete!  This photograph is of the entry and the old stair railings.  It will be coming down and replaced with the red oak railings.

I love the new color, Benjamin Moore Thunder AF-685!  It is a fresh gray color with an ever so slight warm undertone.  It is so beautiful!  My decorating style is modern farmhouse, traditional...oh, let's face it, I am just trying to redecorate for the new decade and I haven't a clue what to call the style I love!  I will send photos and perhaps soon I will figure out what to call my style...other than messy with magazines and books and toys everywhere!

The living room is underway also.  So far we have half of it painted with intention of leaving one wall Hale Navy HC-154.  

The three new Anderson Low-E windows that still did not bring in enough light.  In that window I hang my wreaths back to back so I don't have to look at the frames from inside.  

Yes, we painted around the Christmas decor.  I could not take it all down because I will still have company.  Notice the Hale Navy on the fireplace wall?  That is the wall I am leaving navy at least until the cabinets go up on either side of the fireplace and the new mantle is installed.  I might change my mind but most likely I will leave this wall navy and use some of my old decor.

I have loved this color and hated to paint over it but I needed more light.  When we did the big remodel after Hurricane Ivan we replaced our Anderson windows with new Anderson Low-E glass windows which I love!  I have three windows in the front of the living room with a full glass door in the entry which opens into the living room, but there still was not enough sunlight.  It was beautiful and cozy but I wanted more light.  The color I chose for this room is Benjamin Moore Wish-680.  It is a lighter shade similar to Thunder.  So far I like it...and am thinking of using it in the dining room which also needs more light.  When I have my beloved solid brass Steifl chandelier turned on the light is lovely in that room and the light color floor helps too.  But the large window is actually at the end where we added a small family room during Hurricane Ivan reconstruction.  It will be perfect for Papa and the boys to watch television and play board games.  I have a beautiful light wood Ethan Allen square coffee table with huge drawers for puzzles and games.  The matching television cabinet is so convenient and I LOVE it.  There are doors to shut to make the room look less messy and storage for all our dvd's underneath.  The equipment for Comcast is all on shelves below the television.  I am sad to move it from my living room but who knows...I might watch Hallmark movies in the new family room when the boys are not using that space!  I love Ethan Allen furniture!

The second project some of my family worked on yesterday was the spring call layouts for Scrapbook and Cards Today magazine.  

We did not get as many finished as we had hoped but we are photographing all of them today except two that I set aside as they are more summer than spring.  So, with my daughter and granddaughters help I did very well considering I only had about a week to do them after Christmas.  They are being photographed right now and then they will be sent off to the magazine to check for publication.  

I have never been published in this magazine even though I have submitted over 100 photos in the past year.  So I am praying that this group of layouts contains one that they love for their magazine!  Here is a photo of the latest edition.  They sell it at Barnes and Noble.

We had a great dinner made totally by my 16 year old grandson, Jackson.  He is becoming quite a good cook!  He made Campfire Packets over the grill.  It was cold outside and a few flakes were coming down but he had a great time cooking and they were so delicious!  He had meatballs, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, carrots and corn in foil...the whole family loved his recipe and I must add it to the children's recipe books.  He basked in the praises from all of us!

  

After we ate, my youngest daughter and granddaughters and I went to Hobby Lobby.  I am looking for a periwinkle paper but so far have not found the color I need.  We got a few Valentine decorations in the store.  They have a handful of Christmas things left at 90% off but they are mostly broken and a mess.  We love that they have their spring and summer and Valentine's day decor out already, although they still have a lot of shelves to fill.  I love their sales and yesterday all spring was 40% off everything and The Paper Studio which is their brand of scrapbook supplies was all 50% off.  I found a few things that I had to bring home.  Ha!  My scrapbook room is way too full of my impulse purchases.

After we got home we popped popcorn and watched one of our recorded Hallmark movies, Time For You To Come Home For Christmas.  It was excellent.  It was sad to look at our list on Comcast DVR recordings.  We don't have many left to watch.  We are watching two of the new winter series tonight.  It is our favorite thing to do in the evenings!

We have barely any snow on the ground.  I will be shocked if we ever get a real snowfall this year.  If you are lucky enough to be in an area where you have snow I hope you have a fun activity to do today!  The kids wish they could sled ride...but they would have to ride their scooters in the grass today!  Brrr...cold so I am staying inside!

January 2...Time to choose our new paint colors!

Benjamin Moore's Colorize of Pittsburgh

This morning I got out my paint decks and books and looked over the colors one last time.  I have been checking out Benjamin Moore's Color Trends 2020 book.  The color of the year 2020 is First Light 2102-70, a refreshing alternative to white or beige.  I try to incorporate their color of the year some where in my house every year.  This year I will be using this color in my master bath.  I am so excited.  Pink is my favorite color!  Last year it was Metropolitan, a beautiful gray with green undertones.  I added this color in pillows and cute sayings for my kitchen.  My favorite is IN THIS KITCHEN WE DANCE.

It hangs above the sink on a window we salvaged after hurricane Ivan struck our home and took most of it down.  Having the window frame there reminds me of the weather related issues that we survived.  I thank God that we did not lose our photos or most of the things we treasured.  By the end of 2005 we had just installed new pipes for the bathrooms and they burst on Black Friday.  What else to do after cleaning up the second mess in a little over a year?  We painted the entire house including the addition we had been working on.  It was then that I discovered Benjamin Moore paint.  We use Regal Select which is their trusted premium brand that delivers dependable performance and is also washable!  I love that paint!  Since it is time to change all the beautiful colors I have had for the past five years or so, I have decided to go with a fresh palette.  You can view the new colors here.  I am certain you will choose one to freshen an area of your home or maybe even several to brighten your home for spring!  Check out their Facebook page here for decorating ideas.

Since we are installing the railings for our new staircase to the second floor (stained Old Masters American Walnut also available at Colorize of Pittsburgh), I decided to paint first.  It took no time at all to look at the new 2020 colors and realize that I have been needing a fresh look for my home.  I chose 2020 color Thunder AF-685 for my entry, staircase and upstairs hallway.  I have been wanting to change three walls of my living room to a light color because I have been cross stitching in that area while we watch our Hallmark movies.  The gorgeous Hale Navy HC-154 will remain on the fireplace wall and the rest of the walls will be painted Wish AF-680.  It is a dual purpose choice!  We are huge Disney fans and our favorite song is When You Wish Upon A Star.  The name has us singing our song of course!  It will brighten the living room and make my needlework so much easier.  We have so few days of sunshine in southwestern Pennsylvania.  I know this new color will brighten those cloudy days and our dreams will come true!  *smile*  Work has begun with the entry and staircase and hallway upstairs first...just a bit more patching and sanding with drywall compound from Lowes and let the painting begin!  I can't wait until it is done and hope to have photos to show by Monday!

The colors have been the same for my entry, dining room and Tennessee room for for close to ten years.  The color is Shelburne Buff HC-28.  Thunder is a totally different look.  I am so happy with the clean modern traditional look it will bring to the first floor of our home.  I am not certain of the color for the dining room but as it flows into the smaller family room area I am certain I will use Thunder in that area to remind me of my beloved mountains of Tennessee.  I will paint it after the entry to see if I can more easily choose for the dining room which is between the entry and Tennessee room.  I have been looking at the 2020 Colors booklet this morning and love the blues and greens they have chosen for this year's palette.  Since the Tennessee room has accents of Hale Navy in pillows and also a red and Shelburne Buff windowpane check sofa from Ethan Allen, I want to be sure the color I choose for the dining room blends there.  I have set aside my paint chips and books for another day.  I will choose the dining room paint last for the first floor.  In fact I think I will paint my master bathroom on the second floor next...after all this hard work I deserve a beautiful new color for my relaxing evening bath with a cup of tea and a good book!

Have fun looking at all Colorize of Pittsburgh has to offer!  You can pick up your paint chips and color booklets at any of their four stores.  The closest one to me is the Canonsburg store on Route 19.  Erin works there and will be happy to help you with any of your painting questions and help with color choices!  Be sure to click on the name to get to their website and check out the great sales and discounts!