Let's Play Catch Up!

With some layouts. I have been on some kind of mad roll lately (mid-February...so a month ago now!), pumping out the layouts like nobody's business. It's a welcome change from the creative slump I was experiencing only a couple of weeks before.

Um...so I like colour. A lot, apparently. Dude was very freaked out for all the rides at Disneyland. Even Mr. Toad's! But we just HAD to go on Space Mountain, so we went. He was not impressed.

Indiana Jones was another traumatizing experience for him, I'm sure. But we are either the worst parents ever or the best, for making him helping him face his fears and go on these wild rides! Maybe he'll appreciate us when he's older.

later loves

Technique Tuesday is BACK!

Well....for now. I've got another technique post going up on the TM Inspiration Blog today, so I thought I would share those layouts with you here, and maybe inspire you to head over there to check things out.

This set of layouts demonstrate how to paint on vellum, thereby creating patterned vellum in whatever colour & design you choose! Yay! I'm all about custom embellishments...

I think these are my two most favourite layouts right now. Yeppers. Pretty proud of myself with these ones...pat on the back proud!

And finally, I used gold paint AND gold glitter to create some fabulous polka dotty vellum.

So, are you headed off to paint on some vellum yet? Go get 'em Tiger!

later loves

Disney Layouts (part two of......)

Here is the second batch of Disney layouts that I finished this weekend. I did a bunch at the crop on Friday night, hanging out with Candace & Nadine & Jen. Some more came on Saturday morning...all my stuff was just sitting in the hall begging to be pulled out again! And then Saturday night was the TM Xmas party, so, well, you get the picture!

A "double-page layout"...some of you might know how I feel about matchy-matchy spreads, and I think this one is just right. I've even got a third one in mind to add to this! Also, the timing of this Studio Calico kit with the Ferris Wheel paper couldn't be better!!

Journaling reads:  We convinced Lucas to go on the the big Mickey ferris wheel, but not without some reservations on his part. He was worried about the swinging cars - which we "fixed" by choosing the "non-swinging gondola" line. And he worried about the height, which he continued to worry about the whole time! Oops....

Dude was NOT happy to meet any of his favourite characters. Not even McQueen could make him smile....once he got close to him! When we saw Pluto in Toontown and I made a beeline for him - wanting only to get my picture taken - Dude immediately exclaimed "I don't want to get my picture taken". Before we even had a chance to ask!

Journaling reads: I have fond memories of "it's a small world" from my 1st trip to Disney...mostly because it's so kitschy! HA! The 1st day we were here the line up was CRAZY! I can't even beleive it!! When we came back through on Sunday there was no line, so we jumped in a boat and were off. It was just as lame as I remembered, except this time with an Xmas theme!

I have a feeling that journaling is going to be super important with these layouts. I have loads of funny stories to tell from our trip, and I don't think the pics and pretty things will be enough for me to remember them down the road! Like how Dude stood beside Phineas & Ferb's photographer & cried while Russ & I posed. Or the creepy kids in "it's a small world" with their Christmas songs, and tacky gear. And how it loses some of its allure as an adult when you notice the colour of the ceiling tiles, and can see where the ride needs some maintenance!

later loves

Disney - In layouts (part one...yeah...)

This is only the beginning, I'm afraid. I'll split this batch in to two posts, but only cause I like you so much! Or does that sound more like punishment....hmmm...?

Red & turquoise...still a great colour combo!

Journaling at the bottom reads: The story: Food is expensive in the parks, but you gotta eat! And sometimes the lines were super long, but we pushed through. Lucas really liked his giant churro & I am always a fan of a soft pretzel. I actually was surprised to see alcohol for sale in California Adventures...surprised & happy! It was a good beer! Oh, now Lucas is telling me his favourite was the giant ice cream cone from Sally's Cozy Cone Motel...oh my! It was all good...I was still full days after we got home! Not to mention all the offsite meals.....!!

I wasn't sure if this layout was finished, and then I took a photo of it....and it feels finished!

I'm still not sure how I want to scrapbook Disneyland. You'd think I would have figured that out before diving right in to these layouts! HA! I think I'm going to have a combination of layouts and photo pages, and I'll work on it until I'm sick of it and then it will be done! Like the last Disney layouts...which I am now trying to find on the computer....

later loves

Disney - A Debriefing

I was a reluctant traveller. Many an email and chat were had with BFF before the trip about how freaked out I was to be leaving the country during my holiday break! I didn't want to miss seeing my brother & his family (in from Victoria). And I wanted to spend my holiday sleeping in, and scrapbooking, and hanging out with friends and family, and getting a head start on cleaning out my stupid studio! But Russel was adamant....and I will admit that I did (eventually...more or less) enjoy myself!

I took a bajillion photos! Ha! I've got to give Disney credit for a lot of things, but the biggest one is their attention to detail. Every ride, building, garbage can, and churro stand is decorated & on theme. So I did get a lot of random pictures of the "embellishments" in the parks, but thankfully no garbage cans. Well, not on purpose at least! And most of my pictures are kind of terrible in quality...oops. I thought I would share with you the photos that remind me of the best moments, the highlights of the trip, the most memorable...

When Lucas saw the Hollywood backdrop, and we all thought it was Radiator Springs! Pretty much the look on his face for most of the time was worth all the crowds, and uncomfortable plane rides, and long lines in the world!

Our first glimpse into the world of Cars Land was a giant Red driving down the street! I will admit that I was pretty excited to see that as well!

During the Jedi Training Academy Show, when Darth Vader slowly emerged from under the stage. HA! Lucas - and all the other kids and adults in the crowd - were so pumped!

The beach! It was raining, and chilly, and empty - except for some crazy surfers and even crazier tourists - but it was completely amazing to race the waves with Dude.

When we asked Lucas what he really really wanted to see most of all on his last day at Disneyland, he answered without hesitation: "DJ's Dance Party". Essentially DJ drives into the centre of town, plays some music, and puts on a dance party. His "ladies" invite kids up to dance with them, and it's generally just an awesome time. Lucas did NOT want to join in the fun directly, but he did watch intently all the times we caught the show, and do his own little dance safely on the sidelines.

Lucas reads every single sign he sees. Always. This proved to be at our detriment in the Parks, because for every ride there is a sign detailing the style of the ride. And Lucas' buzz words were "high speed" and "turbulent". Every time he saw those words or some variation on the theme he would make sure to tell us in a loud and panicked voice that this ride would not be fun, and it would be scary, and he did not want to go on this ride, etc. etc. Even Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was met with disbelief and anxiety! But the best was Space Mountain. He knew it was a roller coaster, and he knew it was a big deal, and then he read the sign! Oh man, did we hear an earful on the walk through the line! Afterwards (yes, we are the worst parents and totally made him go on it!) he told us it was the "worst time ever" and that the ride "gave him a heart attack." Drama drama drama!

Meeting McQueen! He and Mater traded off their spot in front of the Cozy Cone pretty much all day, and there was a continuous line of excited kids (& parents....geeze louise!) ready and waiting to get their photos taken with them. Dude was not happy about being in that line, at all! But I told him that Mom & Dad really wanted to get their photo taken with McQueen, so he would just have to wait with us. See how happy he was when we got to the front of the line...?!?!?

Major Observations: It was SO BUSY! I knew that the parks would be crowded at this time of year, but I so wasn't ready for the actual amount of people, everywhere! The Christmas lights & decorations are cool, but I wouldn't want to make an annual tradition out of it. It was nice to see and experience, but I'm good now! Bring your own food! Not only is it expensive to eat in the parks, with all the people around this means that actually getting to eat takes way too much precious time out of your day! Take time to just appreciated where you are. I know for a fact that Lucas could have just stood in Cars Land for three days and been satisfied with his vacation. And I could have done the same at the beach. And we did, as best we could. That's what made the vacation awesome. Say YES to everything! Every time we asked Dude if he wanted to go on a specific ride, he said no. Every. Time. Even if he didn't even know what the ride was! Saying "yes" on a vacation means you get to experience more things, and even if you don't like those things in the end, at least you can say you did them. Ahem...Space Mountain.

And I had a good time overall, but I don't think I want to travel over the holidays again for a long time! Listening to my sister and my family talk about all the fun stuff they did Christmas Day was enough to make me feel that whatever I gained by going away, I missed even more by being away from home.

Thanks for making it to the end of the post! That was a doozy...no more Disney related posts for awhile. Until I start scrapbooking them that is! Aye yi yi!!

later loves