scrapping my vacation

before you start reading this post, i want to just share a few links to where i explain more about scrapbooking with photomosaics. here, here, here and alot here! really you should start with that last link!

i always seem to have so much scrapbook inspiration when i come home from trips! on my way home in the car (it was a 7 hour drive) i went through my camera and and made some sketches and notes about the layouts i wanted to do. this one i didn´t plan, it just happened! the title says: i like to surround myself with maniacs :) i wanted to keep it simple (no story needed) and the only thing i thought out was that my photo was going to be in the middle.

this vacation, we went back to where they make these dalahorses just like we did in 2007. i was blown away then, and very much so this time too. can you believe that each and every horse is hand painted! it gave me so much inspiration to wander those rooms again!

the colors of the layout is a bit of here the thicker letters that appear grey here are infact green and the journaling strips are pink in real life.

here are 2 examples of me wanting to get as many photos in as possible, but being to lazy to actually journal a thing :)

today july 25th 2010

photo taken july 27th, journaling july 25th

Outside my window: i see the dogs wander the yard, sniffing in all the new smells.



I am thinking: that this is life. This simple relaxed environment makes us feel life.


I am thankful for: our fantastic nature and the ability to move freely in it.


From the kitchen: my great husbands yummy pasta.


I am hearing: the fire spark and the sounds of cardplaying.


I am creating: a photobook for my parents-in-law and a crocheted blanket.


I am going to: sleep so good tonight.


I am reading: a Dennis Lehane book.


I am hoping: that I can hold on to how this serenity feels forever.


Favourite from today: the open fire and crocheting in front of it.

___________________________

this post is a part of a series. you can see them all here.

i am back!

and so we are back from a wonderful vacation! we had a lovely time visiting with my parents-in-law up north where they have a cottage (or really 3 on the property). the cottage is located out in the woods about 15 km from the nearest village, so very secluded it was! and that was the point really, to just be. just be without electricity. just be without running water. just be without a watercloset. just be infront of the fire. just be together. we all needed this sort of vacation, none of us wanted to go home!

the area has cows, horses, goats etc that wander freely and everyday we were greeted by them as they strolled by our gate.

one of my very favorite nights was when the horses joined us on our dog walk. it was pure magic to see the light in my horse-crazy daughters eyes as they just decided that it would be cool to join us! i love that memory!

as we were tourists of sorts, we did venture a bit nearby. we saw beautiful nature and small places where life is simple.

but the best time of day (besides breakfast, i love breakfast!) was late afternoon as we lit the fireplace and sat around the fire chatting, chrochetting, laughing and playing cards.

more to come in the next few days!

be back soon!

another scrapbooking video of mine!

a summer favorites layout from Lisa Ottosson on Vimeo.

right now

right now: i am making even more strawberry jam. it is so easy and tastes so good!

right now: my daughter is playing house.

right now: the wind feels cool and the summer rain smells lovely.

right now: sadie is sound asleep by my feet, making us both feel secure.

right now: the dear husband has such bad backpain, poor guy.

right now: we are planning a roadtrip later this week. we love our gps in the car, but some good old map looking is so much more fun!

right now: i am frantic about a wedding shoot i will do on saturday!

right now: i am in a creative rut! yay!

right now: i feel so much love.

right now: i am in the middle of a larger crochet project. i have tired arms from so much hooking :)

right now: i should do some housework and make a list for our roadtrip.

right now: i want to scrapbook...so i think i will :)

A MINIBOOK REVISITED

about a year ago i posted my first pages of the minibook i started. it is a abc mini about me. each letter represent something that is related to me.

the other day i was cleaning my book shelf and i got the mini in my hands. it sparked me to do one or 2 letters more in the mini. above you see the crappy photos of a very fun project.

i love it because i don´t have to race to finish it. i still have a few letters to do.

a; as in ambitious.

c; as in (diet) coke and chocolate

e; as in elisabet

k; as in drivers licence.

i also love it beacuse it is a simple project. nothing big at all, not many products or fuzzy techniques.

ok, move along!

summer, freedom and lovely...

i wanted to share a few new scrapbooking layouts with you!

i used a black and white version of my photo and i love the way it pops against the background paper! i felt lazy on the journaling part and just added that i do indeed love summer :)

i used bits and pieces from my desk and also a magazine clipping for the cluster :)

i got my misting on for this layout. and waited overnight for it to dry completely. i added the photo that screams "freedom" to me and added that word using the cool alphabet set from katie pertiet.

click here to see the source!

another one just because i wanted to play with paper and glue!

keep calm and carry on

ever since i first heard about the World War 2 posters drawn up by the UK Ministry of Information in order to boost the morale of the British people by passing on a message from King George VI, i have thought that they are a cool accent. last year i made a few notebooks with the poster in mini size.

forgive the blurry photo!

then, the other day i stumbled over kristins photo of her kitchen and the lovely yellow poster! i knew i had to have one! there are lots to find on etsy.com, but i have also seen this site where you can do your own version! check out the gallery for inspiration.

i made this and then right clicked, saved it to my desktop and will print it out!

funny how things don´t change :)

i was going through an old notebook from last year and ended up reading a list of 30 things i love about summer. and i still love all those things :) so i thought, why not post it again hehe...

♥ sunshine

♥ free days

♥ english murders (on tv and in books ofcourse!)

♥ end of school ceremonies

♥ greenery

♥ short trips

♥ sunsets

♥ to eat in the garden

♥ strawberries

♥ watermelon

♥ icecream in the harbour

♥ sleeping in

♥ sitting outside a resturant

♥ to fall asleep in the shadow

♥ the trampoline

♥ freshly cut grass

♥ summer shows on radio

♥ to pick homegrown sallad

♥ to sleep with an open window

♥ long days

♥ to be lazy

♥ late nights

♥ to sit in the sun

♥ the warmth

♥ to hang the freshly washed laundry outside

♥ to tidy up the garden

♥ happy moods

♥ the sounds from the horses

♥ summer yardsales

♥ good music

this list and layout was originally posted in June of 2009.

my favorite

one day a few weeks ago, when she just came home from vacation, we took a walk in the forest together. she played, ran and was silly. being her. i took some random photos. when i came home, and looked through them i instantly stopped. my heart skipped a beat.

she is so beautiful. and i captured that!

the 2 black and white versions of the photo is the same in real life. the light when i photographed the page was wonky :)


ps. we are going to a soccer game and a consert tonight! busy busy ♥

a happy page

i did a scrapbook page using the story i told in this blog post.

a page about her simple humour and how amazing it is to laugh with her.

i also used the photos from that post. i wanted to use them all so i added them to a WORD document and sized them down and was sure to leave somespace between all of the photos so that i had an automatic grid.

did the journaling. did a typo. didn´t care about the mess it made... :)

i love how this page makes me happy and smiling.

yesterday

meet my friend, linda!

we have known eachother since our kids were born 11 years ago.

linda introduced me to scrapbooking :)

she has always been the most positive person i have ever known. she was a single mom to her boy for many years, but didn´t let that stop her from nothing. they took cool roadtrips and vacations together all the time!

since then she has met a new love and given birth to another son, who is now soon to be a spicy 2 year old :)

last year when she was pregnant with her third son, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breastcancer. the doctors wanted to start her treatment as soon as possible, so they preformed a c-section to get baby E out in safety from the toxics in the cemo.

linda has since then been through so many horrible treatments, sideeffects and "cancer-life" in general. but as before, it seems like this is not slowing her down much either. she stays busy with life and 2 small kids, a new house, pets and ofcourse her big boy too.

i am in awe when i see her strength!

yesterday, i went with her to the hospital where they preformed a kind of lumbal punction, but instead of spinal fluid they took out a small piece if her bone to see if there are metastases there, which was horrible for linda. i kept her company and we laughed at our spot at the end of the hall. i am so happy that i could make her laugh and have a feeling of not being that bored lying in a bed the whole day in the heat.

linda is getting married in august! i know, that is just awesome! i gave her some hair decorations to try on while we were waiting. it looked amazing on her almost hairless head :)

i am so happy to call her my friend!

linda, we are all rooting for you!

♥

summer is...

sunshine and warm days
to water the garden
icecream in the harbour
strawberries and icecream
harvests
summer radio
swims in the lake
crafts
the sound of the trampoline
open windows at night
laundry hanging outside
bbq
fresh potatoes
the sound of the horse carriages
murderstories both on tv and in the hammock

...and ofcourse watermelon :)

# 2 on my list for this week!

i did crank out a few scrapbooking layouts this week! yay!

i took this photo of us holding hands during a late night walk in the forest. i love the perspective!

i tried my hands on some ruffling here :) i originally thought i would machine sew it down, but that didn´t happen ha!

i used my newly bought teeny type alpha digital kit for the title.

supersimple layout about how happy i was when she came home ♥

still love the banner thing :)

i am working on a few more, so there will be more scrapbooking here on the new blog very soon!

ps. don´t be shy, say hi!

findings

While walking on the beach searching for treasures, i found a pencil. An ordinary, yellow pencil that has most likey been used in a school. The tip was broken and it was partially covered with sand and among rocks.

First i walked by it, but then i got to thinking.

For some a pencil is a treasure.

For some a pencil is a mystery.

But a pencil is also much more. You can du so much with a pencil and a piece of paper.

You can state love, breake up and make up.

Writing with pencils have started and ended wars.

It can change someones life.

It can make a difference, all the difference at times.

You can write a masterpiece.

You can connect.

remember a pencil is not only a pencil.

hi!

welcome to a new blog! why a new blog you wonder? well, partly because i wanted a new url that was easier for people to remember and it is nice to start fresh once in a while. i will be sharing the same things here and not much will change, but i love the new look. blogger has done a good job with the new themes and templates, don´t you think?!

i will be back tomorrow with a story about a pencil...

things to be happy about

a while back i bought the book "14.000 things to be happy about" which i have read the first 15 pages of. some of the things the author has listed don´t comply to me, but here are my favorites from pages 1-10:

-answers

-waking up early and having breafast together outside

-tender, loving touches

-rearranging the apartment

-serendipitous plans

-the sensuality of a scalp rub

-watering your garden

-thought while ironing

-the little things in life that really make your day go right

-not worrying about having what everyone else has

-returning librarybooks

-men

-rising early

-wild roses, blush pink and spicily fragrant in the cool of the night

i am hoping this book while boost to see the little things in life!

and i am sure this will trig me to write my own list and hopefully scrapbook it!

concrete

the things i made with concrete the other week are placed alittle bit here and there in my backyard.

this bowl i made using a rhubarb leaf holds rocks and shells that we collect.

i placed it on my front steps, but i might move it and use it as a birdbath later.

i made some flat shapes aswell.

this one i made using a baking form and when i had poured the concrete into the mold, i put sea glass ontop.

i use it in one of my flowerbeds as a decoration.

more decorations (the leaf shape was a project from last year that went ehum, not so well!, but i love it anyway!) and a stepping stone i made last year where i put strawberry leafs in the bottom so that it would show up when i turned it up side down.

it is great to have something to put my foot on when i pick the weeds!

these are small roses that i put a stick to and use as both decorations and when a plant need some support.

i made them using a ice cube mold!

these are probably my favorites!

first i wanted to use them as stepping stones, but then i needed something to spice up my herbgarden :)

i also wanted to show you a project that didn´t go exactly the way i wanted.

as i made this pot, i used one larger plastic bowl and a smaller one. well, i got the larger one of when the concrete had dried, the smaller one...not so much :) so i sacrified that smaller plastic bowl and took some plants from the garden and this is what i got!

i love it!

have a wonderful day!

and don´t forget to say hi in the comments, it will make me smile :)

moments

i enjoyed my view at the beach yesterday.

my daughter came home from camp where she has been over a week.

i missed her.

she played in the sand, serving me all kinds of sand meals.

but this is where she made a pool, which became a bubblepool after some ehm air was broken :)

this ofcourse was hilarious :)

i love that she is home!

_________________

this week i will share some photos of how and where i use the things in cement i have been making.

i hope to find both the time and the urge to scrapbook.

i will share some of my favorites from the book "14,000 things to be happy about" which i heard about over at this lovely blog.  

i hope that july has treaten you good so far ♥

she is home ♥

she is finally home after being away for a good while.

i will post some new photos tomorrow.

canning season

yesterday i made my own strawberry jam.

canning season always makes me happy.

and ables me to feel like i am a homemaker for reals.