Wedding 1940

So many things came together for this one. Helen's new kit Nostalgic Scrapbook (Retro Designs) had me eager to create a heritage page. Another scrapper created a cute freebie template that I wanted to use with it. We recently were given a copy of a wedding photo in which one of Dick's aunts was the bride. The wedding was in 1940, a year much on our minds as we are among the many thousands of volunteers currently indexing the 1940 U.S. census. And last, I am providing some genealogical research for the people involved with a collection of wedding garments that will form a fascinating display beginning next month at the historical society..

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Designer Credits:
-template: Template 120523 by Dumpty
-most papers, frame, flourish: Nostalgic Scrapbook by Retro Designs
-pale paper, word transfer: ArtPlay Palette Family by Anna Aspnes
fonts: Liberty BT, Bernhard Fashion BT

Rare Gulls for another Digi Dare

This week the Digi Dares are celebrating a 5 year anniversary. Digi Dare #260 must feature 5 somethings with 5 papers, 5 colors, 5 fasteners and 5 fonts or alphas. I thought of the five rarest species of gulls to appear in the state of Ohio. Ivory, Heermann's, Ross's, and Black-tailed Gulls have each been documented once in the state. That once might be one day or a whole season. I know that is only four, but an uncommon gull here, the Sabine's once spent the winter. It was a bird of the year (or immature) and by January and February it had changed plumage in a process not seen in North America before as they winter far to the south. That is pretty rare too. The top photo is one I took of the Ivory Gull found by my BIL. The next too are Dick's photos. Ross's Gull is also affectionately known as "the pink one" as they have a pinkish cast. All we have to record it are my ID sketches. Last is a photo by a more fortunate birder who was MUCH closer to the current rare gull. My five "colors" are black, white, gray, brown, and pink in honor of "the pink one." This was lots of fun to work on.

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Designer Credits:
-brown, pink, white papers: Sweetness and Light by Retro Designs
-gray paper: Oscraps Collab Homespun
-black paper: All Hallow's Night: Designs by Leora Sanford
-prong, brown/white button, brad, pearl: ArtPlay Palette Barren Sunrise by Anna Aspnes
-black button, tape: ArtPlay Palette Sophistica by Anna Aspnes
-pink paint: little bits & pieces sampler by Sue Cummings
-frame, stitching: Early Bird by Deb Ammerman
-5 alpha: Serendipity by Jennifer Labre
fonts: Mufferaw, Pea Beth, Dry Goods Antique JL, Planet Benson 2, More Enchanted Prairie Dog, Impress BT

Window In Time

While working on this page with a photo I took around my 12th birthday I began seeing it as a window in time, remembering my parents and cat. I even remember that blouse, the feel of the cloth and its colors. I can almost feel the air. I used Helen's newest kit "Sweetness and Light" and it is lovely.

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Designer Credits:
Sweetness and Light by Retro Designs
fonts: Snell BT, Mufferaw

Birthday Card for Helen

Happy Birthday, Helen!
Hope you have a wonderful one. Here's a little card composed of goodies from many of your kits.

To see more of the creations of Retro Designs, visit the blog and store.

Doodle #3: Dark Side of the Moon?

When Dick looked at this drawing, one of his findings within it was "the dark side of the moon" and I liked that a lot, so think if this needed a title, that might be it. It is really interesting doing these and this one is a little more organically shaped and bigger. I also realized why they take so long. Deb and I both use fine point Sharpies, but mine are the pen while I think hers are the markers. They are rewarding to work on. In fact, the process is probably more important than the product in the original philosophy of zen doodles. Click on the image to see it in more detail.

When Helen commented on Klimt's "The Kiss," I knew just what she meant. Some of the patterns of shapes in my drawings are very like those in his painting. Mine are areas of writing that I've worked back into with dark shapes. The end result is rather similar. Looking at more of his paintings, I see that he filled many areas with doodle-like shapes.

Mother When Young

I was itching to use the gorgeous red flowers in Helen's freebie. I wanted them with a black and white photo but didn't expect I would choose a winter scene. Somehow it makes it seem even more that we are looking back in time. I also had it in mind to make use of my doodle. The photo is of my mother and my father's car before they were married. It was early 1930 and she was nineteen.

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Designer Credits:
-papers, frame, pail, bird from Time Began in a Garden by Retro Designs
-flowers, ladybug from Nouveau Summer Floral Freebie by Retro Designs
-overlay is an enlargement of my own drawing
font: Minya Novelle

Icicles Thoughts

Our snow is going away very slowly and we went looking to see what was newly uncovered today. We found some tender shoots of daffodils and an iris but we also saw the remains of some large icicles that had fallen into our backyard. They would have been very scary when they fell! Certainly gave us something to think about and I had to take some pictures of them.

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Designer Credits: Golden Memories and Heart of Gold, both by Retro Designs
fonts: James Fajardo, Davida Bold BT, Corbel

Valentine

The Valentine Freebie hearts from Retro Designs inspired me to put together a Valentine for Dick. Now that we have a color printer again, I even printed it out on 4 x 6 photo paper. Hope he'll like it when he sees it in the morning!

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Designer Credits:
-kit: For the Pleasure to Offer by Manue Designs
plus
-bow and rub on: You & Me by Bellisae
-red paper (blended): Playlist by Biograffiti
-word art: Valentine Freebie by Retro Designs
font: Mufferaw