I Wonder...

I have noticed that I keep scrapbooking nature pictures from Israel. I do have some pages of people:

But I keep focusing on the pictures of rocks, beaches, and animals. I know that that is partly because I really crave big, outdoor, natural spaces. I absolutely adore seeing creatures big and small in their natural habitats.

But, I also know that such a big part of our trip to Israel was every day spent with family. And there are just so many thoughts and feelings wrapped up in that, that I am having some difficulty capturing it in pictures and words. There are too many pictures, and too many words, and quite frankly, it makes me sad that we are not there anymore. I did get this one photo scrapped, though. It was from our last day there, and it does sum up in very few words, what was so magical about this summer.

Sigh.

I never shared this

I made this for my sister this summer. It's a welcome sign for her home, with her family name on top. I used lots of  American Crafts paper for this baby, some AC brads, and that key, oh that key (!), is from K&Co, and the long journaler from Ali Edwards.  

From Blog to Scrapbook

This post here, turned into this layout here:

Thanks to my fabulous Cocoa Daisy kit, I was able to use some products that I don't normally use: American Crafts cardstock, Jillibean Soup pattern paper, Lilly Bee patterned paper, My Mind's Eye and American Craft letter stickers. And then my more usual fare: Basic Grey, brads, and cute pictures of cute kids.

And another Layout

Not to keep harping on the same subject, but I really liked being outdoors, exploring nature and the world while we were in Israel. I really just couldn't get enough. And, I will point out, that "exploring nature and the world" in the Middle East in the middle of the summer, is not most peoples idea of a good time. It is very toasty. But, it was just fine with me. 

(Though now that we are home, I do enjoy a nice 70 degree day.)

A brand new Ella Sketch and a brand new kit

See, for a while I've been checking out Cocoa Daisy. Looking at their kits, reading the blog, following the designers. But, thought I, "I'm not one of those scrapbooking kit club people." Except that now I am. I finally took the plunge, and got a 6 month subscription to Cocoa Daisy. My first kit arrived on Saturday, and I got to work with it by Saturday night.

It's nice to have new supplies to work with. It gets the juices flowing. I want to work fast and make as much as I can before the novelty wears off. And, since more supplies are coming in a month, I've got to use it up before I get overloaded with stuff.

So without further ado, with the help of the September Cocoa Daisy kit , some Prima paper, and some Basic Grey stickers from my stash, I bring the latest in the series:

I love how simple these sketches are.  Here's my take:

Another layout trying to capture every morsel of this summer's trip to Israel. 

Same place, different kid, different color scheme

I'm not done talking about Israel yet. I'm still thinking about our amazing trip to Caesaria. It was from those pictures that I made this layout that I used for Ella Stretch Your Sketch.

The photos of Max at the beach, made me think about how he has grown and matured. See how pensive he looks? I wrote all about some of those changes in those little journaling blocks. As for scrapbooking:  I used some gorgeous Basic Grey paper, brads, and stickers to compliment the blues of the sky and the ocean.

Compare that to this little fella:

When I showed Dave this picture of Sam, from the same trip to the same beach,  Dave said, "That is so Sam." Always ready to take on the world, no matter how big it is. When I started this layout, I had other photos, and again looked to oranges and blues to compliment the amazing blues in the photo. But, I found this photo captured so much, that I left it by itself, and added as little color, and as few words as possible. I started with some American Crafts paper in the back, and then layered on some Basic Grey beauties. And, nothing would be complete without a butterfly or two, or three, thrown in for good measure.

Brother and Sister

See these two?

That's my niece and nephew, Joey and Meital. Joey is six, and Meital is four. For two siblings close in age they get along smurfingly well.

One evening while sitting in my sister's home, Joey sat at the table, saying: "You know what? Meital is stupid." And Meital said, "I'm not stupid. You're stupid." And Joey said, "No. Meital is stupid, because she farts a lot." As this kind of discourse went on, my sister said, "That's how I know Joey is tired. When he is mean to Meital. Because otherwise, he would never be mean to her." Which is a pretty good deal, I have to say. And, anyway, you can;t get too mad at someone who looks like this: