The Summer is Going Way, Way, Way too fast!

I can't believe that it's the end of July already.  EEEEK.  I've signed up for my classes and I guess I'll be buying books soon.  The stores are already filled with clothing for fall.  I haven't bought all my summer clothes yet!  Oh well. 

I did have the opportunity to spend some time at a cottage.  Here are some pictures of some lovely Ontario lake scenes.

So now that you've been refreshed by some lovely scenery, get back to scrapping!  Maybe start with a deal from Scraptivity.  Check out the blog to see what's on this week.

Gave Blood Today

I gave blood today and got my 10 donation pin.  Woohoo.  I thought I had done it more than that, but time sort of distorts these things.  I give much faster now.  I used to take forever and it got to the point where I thought they would have to hang me by my heels and squeeze me to get out the full donation.  Now it's about 10 minutes and I'm finished.

At the end you get to have cookies, or even Bits and Bites and something to drink.  Pleasant conversation accompanies the process.  I can't say I truly enjoy it, but there are things much less pleasant without nearly as positive a benefit.

Animals doing Strange Things

This weekend we were at a cottage and saw this interesting sight.

I imagine the dog must actually like this, otherwise how would you get the dog on the seadoo.  He looks happy enough.  Later, my husband on a boat ride in another area of the lake, saw another dog on a seadoo.  Apparently, it's just a better form of sticking your head out of the window.

A Long Time Ago....

It may seem that November 2007 was a long time ago, and well in some ways it was, but the kit from November 2007 is as current as ever.  The reason is that it is all about time.  Month stamps, blank calendar pages in two formats and beautiful papers provide the basis for a very solid kit.  With Christmas just around the corner, my corners are maybe a little longer than yours, now may be a good time to get started on a gift calendar project.  The calendar components also make good journaling spots and embellishments.  Have fun, play around, but mostly don't miss this deal.  At $19.99 it's a great value.  Also, don't forget to check out the Blog for other great deals.

Made with the November 2007 kit, Rock Candy Stickles, Liquid Pearls, MME Lush brad.

Cards are possible too.

Genealogy and Volunteerism

There are many ways to volunteer your time to worthwhile causes.  I volunteer at the Bata Shoe Museum giving tours, mostly to school groups, and really enjoy that experience.  It fits with my love of history, particularly the everyday aspects of how people lived in various times.  It's surprising how much a shoe can tell about a person and the society they lived in.

Another aspect of my love of history is genealogy.  I've been tracing my husband's family tree for a number of years now.  I am slowly becoming the family's historian, getting calls when babies are born and people die just for the purpose of keeping records straight.  Sad and happy, but with the wide spread of families and very few family bibles, important.

This past weekend my Aunt-in-law called to give me some info and told me about her trip to Pier 21 in Halifax.  Her husband's father was a Homechild or Bernardo child.  He knew very little about his family, but while there found his father with two siblings on a ship arriving in Canada.  Well, I have an Ancestry.com membership and told my Aunt I would look into seeing if I could find anything more.  The miracles of the digital age meant that a few hours later I had his family researched back 4 generations.  The best part is that some very fuzzy family stories now have some answers and answers that remarkably fit to elements of the stories.  I am packaging up everything I have found and hope it gives my Uncle some delight in learning about his family.  I am sure it will.

You're asking now what this has to do with volunteerism.  A few years ago I tried doing some transcribing for the Free Gen project in Scotland.  At first I thought it was a doable project.  Transcribe the returns for an entire district for the census year 1841.  One year and over 1000 records later I felt like I had hardly made a dent and the guilt in being so slow was really bothering me.  I handed the project back unfinished and hope that at least the work I had done was able to be used.  Ancestry.com must have understood some of the challenges and potential of a public willing and eager to help transcribe.  They have created a wonderful method with software , the keying tool, and data to download in manageable chunks.  I am talking transcriptions that can be done in under one half hour.  You can be bored, pull one up, and finish it off while supper is cooking.  You need to be registered, but you don't have to have a subscription to participate.  All the records transcribed via this method will be made available to search for free.  Check it out under the collaborate tab on the main page.  It's like a do good quick fix!

Just sharing a little smile.

Kit Sale Continues

This week it's the March 2010 kit.  This lovely kit has some gorgeous papers from Shabby Green Door's On the Wing of a Dream collection.  The beautiful, softly toned papers blend beautifully with Ella Blue from GCD, which continues the theme of blue and brown with the addition of flocking and lacquer.  Add to that some fabric elements and pretty stamps and you are already well on your way to beautiful layouts.  The technique is using Shimmerz and Shimmerz Blingz.  Fun, fun, fun and just one more way to add sparkle for all you magpies.  Head over to Scraptivity and check it out.

I've been using this kit with the April 2010 kit to put together my daughter's Paris album.  Lucky duck had her 16th birthday on a class trip to Paris.

July Challenges

In the summer we're all busy.  BBQ's, summer camp, trips to the cottage and road trips with the family, nights sleeping in tents and oppressive heat all contribute to a hectic time that seems to move at all too slow a pace.  We all think we can cram in a little extra.  Well we thought a good July challenge would involve less, not more.  The point of this month's challenge is making the most of those hot summer days, without adding to the already hectic pace.  Summer living should be easy and so should our summer challenge.  Be quick, be easy, be uncomplicated.

To kick things off, I made a quick hostess gift to take to a friend's cottage when we go.  Their cottage is such an inspiration.  Simple, homey and filled with things that are meaningful to them.  Almost every object holds a story, but at the same time is displayed in a very easy simple way.  Last year I made them a glass mushroom, but this year I thought a pack of homemade blank cards and what better way to honour the cottage tradition than by using Graphic 45's On the Boardwalk collection.  What makes a whole pack of cards simple is the way these papers coordinate and the elements that can be cut out of the cards.  Pick a coordinating cardstock and you are good to go.  I picked a burnt orange, turquoise and ochre linen card at Bizzy B's, where I also picked up the Graphic 45 paper.

The whole project took about an hour and a half.  I did have to split my time over a couple of days due to the use of Glossy Accents and Distress Crackle paint in clear.

See the challenge over at Scraptivity.  There will be quick project ideas throughout the month.  Come over, have a look and pick up or share an inspiration for a quick summer project.