Pumpkin Head

I've been calling Grace that for ages :) And now she really is one. I adapted a Frankenstein Hat pattern and changed things, etc. and made a jack o'lantern hat. (Frankenstein ones are in progress). I used simply soft pistachio for the stem and red heart pumpkin (left over from Nathaniel's scarf) for the main part of the hat. And then felt cut outs for the facial features (I guess jack o'lanterns have faces). Grace loves it, but I wish I'd taken a picture when I first finished it and put it on her because she stretched it out so badly. Gotta' figure out how to fix that.

MSD 24-26

This is the May 26th challenge - Amazing Race.  You had to complete your layout in an hour or less...all you could begin with was your cutters and adhesive.  I reached in to the photo box for Joshua and pulled out these pictures...I used yellow paper because it would complement the basketballs in the border sticker - plus it's J's favorite color.  The sticker border is byFrances Meyer, the arrow and journaling box are all by Storytellers (these were the three required elements besides the time limit). The cardstock and vellum quote are by DCWV.

The May 25th Challenge was Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and we were supposed to use at least one "retro" item.  This Basic Grey paper I found as I was looking for paper for the May 24 challenge screams retro to me...and it was perfect for these pictures of Joshua in last year's Halloween costume.
The font is retroish too - Arnprior and the molecule things in the title were clip art in MS Word - also looked pretty retro to me. I downloaded the images of Lewis from the internet because there are a lot of similarities between Joshua & Lewis - and not just their looks!

The May 24th Challenge was Sasy Yes to the Dress and you were to use pearls, lace/ruffle, and stitching (hand, machine, fake).  I was still on a heritage kick and did this picture of Brian's great-grandmother, Olive.  I used little stick on pearls that I got in the dollar bin that last time I was at JoAnns, the lace is stuff I've had forever, and I hand stitched it to the page. The paper is Basic Grey &cardstock is Bazzill.  The silk flower is from a friend. Love how this turned out!

MSD 21 & 22

I've gotten the challenges done in time, but just haven't had a chance to put them on here...

The May 21st was called Ghost Lab (no idea what that show was).  Supposed to use a transparency or something transparent.  I used the plastic cover from an old Cricut mat and cut out a spider web from the Mini Monsters cartridge.  Then I traced it with glitter glue.  The perfect embellishment for a page about a young Spider-Man!



The May 22nd challenge was Who Do You Think You Are? - the celebrity genealogy show on NBC.  I've been doing a little research on my great-grandpa and his service in World War I (due to a book my 9 year old read that made him rethink all of his battling games (Star Wars, etc.) and question war).  My mom had a picture of him in his uniform, an envelope from a letter he sent home, page 5 of a poem that he wrote about a Solider's Life (no idea where the other pages are), a letter from a commanding officer that talked about what they did, and a copy of a letter from Teddy Roosevelt (yes, the president), thanking his Engineering company (he was a Private and an Engineer in France) for marking the grave of his son Quentin.  I did a little research on that, not knowing that not only did Teddy's youngest son die in World War, but that Teddy died just 6 months after his son.
Then I signed up for a two week trial on ancestry so that I could get a copy of his Draft Registration card and Service card.  This kit from Creative Memories was perfect for all these aged documents and the sepia picture.
Makes me have more questions about him...he died 11 years before I was born, my mom was only 10.  I have a few stories that my great-grandma told me.  But I wonder why he never married until he was 32 (Grandma was 21), what did he do in France during the war, besides build & repair bridges and roads and make maps...did he fight in any battles? Was he really exposed to mustard gas and that is why he was bald (a story my mom remembers hearing)?
And how did he react and what did he think of France & Europe, coming there from this valley that is not very populated now, almost 100 years later, where he was a miner.  I remember how totally different things seemed to me when I lived in Spain - and that was during peace, not war.
I love genealogy...even when it leaves me with more questions than answers.



MSD 20 - Nathaniel carving Pumpkins 2008



The challenge for May 20th was Iron Chef...the secret ingredient to be used was stamping...and not just slap a stamped image on somewhere, it had to be fancied up.
So I used Nathaniel's Cars glitter glue pens (which I figure is just like Stickles, but I've got a way better variety for free) and colored pencils.  The paper & cut outs (parentheses & Pumpkin) are from Storytellers and the cardstock is Bazzill (from ST as well).
I colored all the pumpkin stamps, but the row of pumpkins have glittery green stems & vines added, as well as the tiny pumpkin in front being cut out from another image and "popped" up on the front of this one.  The cat has neon green eyes. THe pens used were from Creative Memories