A Confession of a Crazy Woman

I'm ashamed and embarrassed to admit that I've been a lurker, stalker and springtime seeker of the lilac all my life. I have been known to drive around town hunting this little bit of pre-summer bloom, sneaking out of the car with shears in hand, hoping no one sees me snipping a small bouquet of these wonderful fragrant flowers from an abundant flowering bush. At times, I have asked, begged and ogled one's garden enough to be given a bouquet just to get rid of me. And laughing all the way home with said bouquet in fist that I had scored (arm pumping action has been known to happen, too). I know I'm bad and shameless, but I just love lilacs. To inhale their fragrance puts a smile on my face and a little springtime joy in my heart. and with that being said.....

My darling daughter has written me that Portland Oregon is in full bloom of springtime flowering bushes and lilacs abound in that fair city. humpfeldo ... not yet in Bellingham. And no lilacs have been seen, ogled or stalked in the 222 miles north of Portland in Bellingham. Yet!

However, leaving our "one stop shopping" establishment this morning I noticed a light whiff in the air --- could it be? is that a true lilac scent, I smell? Lo and Behold right there, next to the door, was a small display of springtime flowering bushes FOR SALE. AND WHITE LILAC'S no less. I grinned - I counted my pennies -- I purchased a fine specimen of Genus Syringa for my very own. It's gorgeous! I've been doing the happy dance for the last few hours. (More arm pumping going on here.) Now, I just need to find the "perfect" spot to plant my very own lilac bush. A small, hidden lilac spot to call my very own, protected from the lilac lurkers that are out there seeking, searching and hunting for a small little clump of springtime goodness. But, if they admire my fine display of snowy, white blossoms and shower me with flattery, I can be bought & I'll be glad to share a little snippet or two. It'll be payback time for the confession of a crazy woman.
(photo above is of my very own lilac bush - they ARE blooming in Bellingham after all. And yes, it will get it's very own scrapbook page, soon)

Tip Toeing Through The Tulips

While the gang was home for a visit, Scooter and I went sunrise photo shooting (along with every photographer in the region willing to be up and about at 5:30 am). Here's a little glimpse of our area tulip fields. This photo was taken by Nancy Higgins, a pro wanting my red jacket in her photo. Look for it in a magazine in the near future (not sure which one, yet). And just wait for all the tulip scrapbook pages to come, along with mossy rock greatness, mountains, family fun & games.
----- oh yea, there will be lots!

Hug A Tree - - - - -

Have you hugged a tree, today? No? Well, go find one and hang on -- it's refreshing, sweet and rewarding to hug a tree. And just think how the tree will feel. Love the tree you hug, be one with nature and remember, earth day should be every day.
Now, go find that tree and give it a hug.
Photos taken in the North Cascade National Park.
(and yes, these photos will be scrapbooked)

I'm jumping! I'm jumping!

A few years ago, Scooter told me the cutest story. He was at a wedding and a little boy was there all excited, getting caught up in the moment. With a wide grin, the little boy started jumping up and down and squealing, "I'm jumping! I'm jumping!" expressing his excitement of the moment and getting into the happy place that a wedding generates. I can relate.........

Right now, I'm jumping! I'm jumping! My 5 favs (well, only 4 are showing in this crazy layout) are all showing up in Bellingham for some family time, guaranteed excitement, laughs a minute and all around family fun. Let the games begin!
I'm jumping! I'm jumping!

Color Me Poppy Orange

I've been trying out some new (to me) digital scrapbooking techniques and this one is called extractions (sounds painful). Letting the photo float out of the frame for a little 3D effect. I was fortunate to receive some brilliant poppy photos (color and photographer) from Scooter and I went to town in Photoshop Elements. But, as Yoda always says, "do or do not, there is no try". So, I did. This is a double page layout for my 8.5"x11" albums. Makes me feel like spring might just be on it's way. Yipee!!!

Those amazing men and their flying machines -- a few years ago, Bruce, Scooter and I traveled the east coast and landed in Kitty Hawk. Can't say much for the Outer Banks (just doesn't compare to the Oregon coast - if one were to do a comparison list) but, seeing the spot were Wilbur and Orville did their thing was impressive. We walked the markers, enjoyed the Wright Bros. center and marveled at those amazing men and their flying machines.

Scooter has built a few glider planes in the past with record breaking results (I think the longest airborne attempt was 2 minutes before a crash and burn). Recently, he rediscovered this model hobby. So, with a little bit of wood, a little bit of glue and a lot of determination he's taking to the skies, again. And, remember folks, if you give your mum some photos --- they're going to get scrapped.

Tea, anyone? (must be said with little pinkie raised & a British accent)

Another page for the books, a double page 8.5x11's --- (and if the scrapbook digi police are out and about, here are the credits: Paislee-pp, Katie Perteit's Story Time-red medallion & staple it, Lynn Grieveson word buttons & French Summer-ribbon, Lyndsay Riches's Whet Your Palette-flower, fonts: Pea Steele & My Own Topher. Scraplift from Kchris at Designer Digitals.)

This one gets a star!

I caught this story on the Operation NICE & Ordinary People Change the World sites and brought it here to share.

A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement.

She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”

The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied,

“Well, I made a difference to that one!”

The old man looked at the girl inquisitively and thought about what she had done and said. Inspired, he joined the little girl in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were saved. - adapted from the Star Thrower by Loren C. Eiseley

I'll take Mansfield's Zodiac for $500, Alex....

Who is a mountain climbing, water bearing, intuitive and sometimes crabby, creative and witty family? (this is where the bells and whistles go off for the winning answer *&%#$*&$#) Not that I'm into "what's your sign, big boy?" (well, not anymore - LOL) but, some of the zodiac traits really do fit the personality of the person. These were fun to do and more digi layout pages for the books.

What's a scrapbooker to do when she starts running out of pictures to scrap? Create something to scrapbook, that's what. So, I did. (click on the pictures for the up close and personal look see) I'm getting some mileage out of the pictures I do have. So, until I can find something or someone or an event to snap a shot of for fresh material to scrapbook, guess I'll just use what I've got - again and again and again. Maybe I'll do a "My 5 Favs" next, or some before & after pages, or take pictures of things just to keep scrapbooking. I'll take "Who's smiling now?" for $1,000, Alex.

(if the digi police want to know where to get the elements used to create the pages, just ask and I'll supply the list)

www.scottmansfield.com

Another family thing: Some know him as Scott, some as Scooter, some as hubby, brother or son, but one thing is for sure -- get to know him and his amazing photography. Scott has taught me to actually see what is right in front of me - to capture a feeling on film - to look at the world through the lens and see it's beauty. Check out Scott's web site - his work is sensational, thought provoking and a pleasure to behold.

Just Playing Around

Nothing to blog about, yet, so I've been playing around with my header. (and a few of my new digi playthings.) That's heady stuff! Too much, not enough, back to the original or just back to the drawing board ? --- these are important questions a blogista needs to address. I'll just let it rest for a bit and see if grabs anyone's attention. I'm just an amusing blogger amusing myself, but, I do love those flowers.
my simple header and then I went crazy.......

In the scrapbooking world there are tags for certain styles of scrapbooking, e.g., traditional, simple, block, digital, classic, grunge, etc. I don't do grunge, using embellishments that have nothing to do with the picture or theme, scruffy papers, odd colors, and just stuff filling the page. However, I had to do a little bit of grunge to match this fantastic picture --- I just had to. This is one of my favorite pictures of son & wifey during a photo shoot many years ago and another digital page for the books. Thanks Scooter & Sara for a great photo. For an up close and personal look, just click on the layout.

(credits for the scrapbook legals: word art and butterfly by fei-fei stuff Crazy Beautiful, grunge frame outline by J. Sprague)

It all started when I thought I should get all the family pictures out of the boxes and into a couple of photo albums. While looking for the albums to fill, I discovered there was a whole world I had not been aware of --- Scrapbooking. I was hooked and the rest, as they say, is history. My scrapbooking style has changed since beginning eight years ago and who knows what is next. I love this hobby, this obsession, this passion of working with paper, scissors and glue (with a few computer tricks thrown in for fun) and all the friends I have made across the U.S. in the name of scrapbooking. So, if you want to see and read the Mansfield family history -- just ask --- I'll show you all 60 something albums.

(digital credits: flowers by Pasilee-ecologie and notebook paper shape by Katie Perteit the rest is all mine.)

It's All In The Family . . . . . . .

Paper Artists run with scissors and run in the family! This is a page for the albums when Andrea (aka Lily & Leda) and I (aka Sams'Studio) had a small space in Bellingham's local handmade shop. The shop closed after a few months (no fault of ours) but, we had a fun adventure sharing our love of paper. These photos were taken on opening day - as time went by we filled our shelves with new designs, different products and sold, sold, sold.

This is just one of Andrea's many paper talents. Give her a piece of paper and watch out - it's a wall hanging, a piece of jewelry, a note card, an idea that IKEA should copycat or a dialogue of paper. If you haven't yet, jump over to LilyandLeda.etsy.com and treat yourself to one of her treasures. (If you'd like to see the above digital layout picture up close and personal - just click on it)

(SB legals: pattern papers-Amy Teets Sun Porch, Katie Pertiet, LaCremerie Fruits Noirs, Sweet Blossom Designs by Sara, flowers-Peppermint Creative South Hampton & Michelle Coleman Wild Sherbet, brads-Amy Tweets) whew! The rest is mine -- all mine.

Assignment: Book Report

Well, I’ve got some pimping to do --- oh pleaze, not that! (although, I could use the money - I hear young men and older/wiser women connections are hot right now.) Moving on ---- If you know me at all, you know that I love a great mystery series. I love discovering new authors, starting with book one and on down the line. I’ve read all the female authors from the U.S. and have a pretty good handle on the male authors, too. I don’t care to read dark & dirty or spooks jumping out to Boo me (I scare easily --- you know if you go down that dark and dank basement nothing good is going to happen). Plus, I refuse to read true crime stories (that evil does not deserve to be published) but I love good “get into it” mysteries. Having said that, given all the facts, I usually can pick the perp within a couple of chapters - but continue reading for the enjoyment of the story, characters I want to more about, the mystery of the book and the author’s writing. And just sometimes, I get it wrong (“innocent until proven guilty, Sam!”).

Here’s where the pimping comes in --- I recently discovered an author that has his act together and writes a most enjoyable read. Even if you don’t read mysteries per se, these books are for everyone. Mr. Karp is one of the funniest writers with barbs and banter throughout, great character studies, story lines that are plausible with twists and turns to keep you up all night reading and laughing. Lomax & Biggs are the heroes of the story, two LAPD detectives that you won’t be able to get enough of throughout all of Mr. Karp’s books.

Now, I understand if you have commitment issues - don’t we all - however, Mr. Karp has posted the first five chapters (they’re small chapters and it won’t take you long to read) of his third book, Flipping Out, being released the end of March. Hop on over to his web site and get a belly laughing taste of this great mystery writer’s book. And, if you’re like me -- start with book one: The Rabbit Factory followed by book two: Bloodthirsty. That is, if you’re looking for a good time!