Time Stretches Still

Summer is going by so quickly, it's hard to believe the days are getting shorter already. The girls have been keeping me busy and Raquel has been monopolizing the computer. I actually feel a little guilty that I haven't gotten around to finishing a page for quite some time and updating my blog.
When I had a few moments, I've been working on another page for my children's heritage album. I finally got it finished after a call to my aunt yesterday to establish a date on it. This is a picture of my grandmother and my great aunt, it was taken a few years before my grandma passed away. The quote I used is by Nick Edelstein, it reads "When lilies fade, memories flood and time stretches still."


Time Stretches Still digital kit credits: Secret Garden from The Dapper Doxie
Font used: Heather & Park Avenue PT

We've been busy enjoying the summer weather and spending lots of time outdoors. The girls also enjoyed going to the Calgary Stampede and watching the fireworks a couple of weeks ago. Last weekend we finally went and did a little camping. Ayden enjoyed the park at the campground the most. It was nice just to sit by the campfire and look at the stars and get away from the yard for a few days. Raquel spent the weekend riding in the mountains with her dad again and she is away this week spending some time with him. Ayden and I are spending a few quiet days without her. It's been a rather gray and rainy week so far and it's not supposed to turn sunny till the weekend, so we are stuck inside trying to keep busy, much to Ayden's disappointment. Hope your summer is going well!

A Sister Is

Deb, at The Dapper Doxie, has upgraded her blog store, into an online shop. She has created several beautiful kits lately and the new store looks terrific. Along with the new store, Deb has updated the gallery also. Deb is planning to have her grand opening later in September or early in October. I know, if you stop by and register at her shop before the grand opening, Deb as has little gift for you.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my daughters. They are growing up so quickly. When this picture was taken, Ayden wasn't even 6 months old. Now she can talk, hop, skip and count to at least 6. Where does the time go? Sometimes Raquel loses patience with her little sister, but without a doubt they love each other. Sisters can certainly be annoying and they often borrow things without asking. But, when it comes right down to it, I would never trade my sisters for anything. I hope Raquel and Ayden always feels that way too.

The quote reads: A sister is one who reaches for your hand and touches your heart. (Author Unknown).

A Sister Is digital kit credits: Yesterdays Dreams Digital Scrapbooking kit from The Dapper Doxie.
Mask: Dragons Breath
Fonts Used: Mutlu, Porcelain, Monsieur La Doulaise & Heather

It's raining tonight and it sounds so tranquil falling on the roof. The rest of the long weekend is supposed to be cool. Ayden is looking forward to her sister coming home tomorrow. She sure misses Raquel while she is away. I'm sure Ayden will find it different next week, when Raquel heads back to school. Me too, I'm looking forward to having a bit more quiet....

Have a wonderful day!

Lovelier than Lilacs

I spent some time this week scanning in some more of the old pictures my mom gave me. I know I've said it before, but I do really love those old pictures. I wonder about their lives, their dreams, sorrows and heartaches. I have a lot of them digitized now and organized into family files.

This is a picture of my great aunt. Leona, was one of my maternal grandfather's four sisters. Raquel and I both think she was beautiful and like the picture on the right. I suppose this is really an introduction of sorts to Leona. I don't know Leona's date of birth or when she passed away, but I do know a little bit about her life. I have quite a few pictures of her family and will eventually be doing more pages for my heritage album.

I really like this kit of Deb's, lilacs are one of my favorite flowers. I had decided I wanted to use a quote about lilacs on this page. It was all done, except for that and finally after several hours of internet surfing, I found this one, (you'd think there would be more quotes on lilacs). It seemed to go perfectly with the rest of the page. The quote reads:

Thou art not lovelier than lilacs,—no
Sonnet I

THOU art not lovelier than lilacs,—no,
Nor honeysuckle; thou art not more fair
Than small white single poppies,—I can bear
Thy beauty; though I bend before thee, though
From left to right, not knowing where to go,
I turn my troubled eyes, nor here nor there
Find any refuge from thee, yet I swear
So has it been with mist,—with moonlight so.

Like him who day by day unto his draught
Of delicate poison adds him one drop more
Till he may drink unharmed the death of ten,
Even so, inured to beauty, who have quaffed
Each hour more deeply than the hour before,
I drink—and live—what has destroyed some men.

Edna St. Vincent Millay,
Renascence and Other Poems, 1917

Lovelier than Lilacs digital kit credits: My Lady and My Lady Add on freebie from Doxie Designs.
Fonts used: Mutlu, French Script MT, Monotype Corsiva, Porcelain & Kayleigh.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a nice weekend!

The Gift of Oneself

The weather has improved finally, today it was 0 C, which was a nice change. Everyone is starting to feel better, which is wonderful as well. I found an interesting site the other day about chemicals on fruits and vegetables. It lets you know which fruits & vegetables have the most pesticides. I know a lot of us mom & grandmas are concerned with what our little ones eat. If you like, you can check it out at Food News.

Doxie Designs has out a lovely new kit, it has so many elements in it that remind me of my Grandma Kay. Grandma Kay, was my Grandpa Mike's second wife, and she was a very wonderful, caring lady. She was the only Grandma I ever really knew, she passed away in July 2006. I will always miss her. She used to write me letters and send pictures. She loved God, gardening and liked pretty handkerchiefs. I will never forget her tea cup collection and the fruit trees in her yard. We must have been a handful, when mom & dad took us to visit every year. This picture was taken the last time Grandma Kay came to visit.
The quote reads: Love is above all the gift of oneself. -Jean Anouith

The Gift of Oneself digital kit credits: Precious Memories by Doxies Designs (Bow colorized to match ribbon), word art also by Doxie Designs (it was a freebie Deb gave out a while back).
Fonts used: Windsong & Perpetua

A Little Taste of Spring

Only 8 more days till Christmas. I love Christmas carols and all the lights. The excitement is building in the air. My parents & Kyle will be here. We are all looking forward to seeing them.

My friend, Deb, had started her own online store, Doxie Designs. I am so happy for her. I was flattered when she asked me to be a member of her creative team. She has some lovely kits and I was more than happy to accept. I am hoping this will provide me with a little more incentive to get more of my pictures scrapped into LOs. Deb, also designs some beautiful LOs herself and offers up some awesome freebies on her blog. If you haven't stopped by her blog, Dapper Doxie, you are missing out on a wonderful artistic experience. Thank you Deb for asking me to be on your team.

I used Doxie Design's beautiful kit, Mother's Pansies on these two LOs. The first LO, Violets Are Blue, is of Ayden playing with a violet at the end of May this year. I just love her chubby little hands and had to include those pictures too. I dried the violet and saved it for her, then I turned it into a tube. I just love tiny little violets. They always remind me of spring and they smell so wonderful. Hope you enjoy these pages. The quote reads as follows:

The smell of violets, hidden in the green,
Pour'd back into my empty soul and frame
The times when I remembered to have been
Joyful and free from blame.

- Lord Alfred Tennyson
Dream of Fair Women (st. 20)

I also found the following little bit about violets and couldn't resist adding a few fairies.

The Little pansy - The violet is sacred to all fairies. Gathering violets in the spring will bring good luck and a wish come true courtesy of the faerie realm.

Violets are Blue Credits: Mother's Pansies by Doxie Designs http://store.dapperdoxie.com/
Fairies Printable Paper from www.blushbutter.com
Capture a Trinket freebie from http://www.sugarplumpaperie.com/category/freebies/
Fonts used Vivaldi, Mutlu, Porcelain, Coventry Garden & Ajile
Hearts & Dried violet by http://artwithindesigns.blogspot.com/

This second LO is called Grandmother's Heart. It is a hybrid LO that I did earlier this spring, using the same kit from Doxie Designs. I think Deb's kits are so versatile and they print up beautifully. In the LO are Raquel & Ayden with their Grandma. The pictures were taken in October 2006. The quote reads as follows:

God's most precious work of art is the warmth and love of a Grandmother's heart. -author unknown

Grandmother's Heart Credits: Digital Kit Mother's Pansies by Doxie Designs http://store.dapperdoxie.com/
Materials: Iridescent Butterfly - Provocraft, rhinestone brad - K and Company, metal index tab - Making Memories, plastic elements - Jesse James Button, Rain dots - Cloud 9 Designs, vellum - Scrapbookeh and Pink Stickles by Ranger.

I hope I have time for another LO this week, but I think we will be busy cooking, cleaning and wrapping presents. Hope you all have a great week!