Pick your own

This summer and fall I have enjoyed picking blackberries, peaches and apples with the boys. I love that in this area we have so many opportunities to "pick our own" produce at local farms (not to mention all of the great vineyards in the area.) The last few trips to a farm we have enjoyed visiting Crooked Run Orchard in Purcellville, Virginia. We picked blackberries and peaches with my mom when she visited us from Atlanta, Georgia. It was wonderful to create such beautiful memories with the boys and their nana.





Just two weeks ago, we went back to Crooked Run Orchard to pick apples with some of our friends. The kids had a great afternoon and, of course, big brother just had to climb an apple tree.

Here is one page I created to celebrate "picking our own."

Be well friends and get out there and "pick your own."

Obama Rally in Leesburg

It was amazing! I took the whole family to the Obama rally in Northern Virginia. We were four in a crowd of 35,000 people. The energy, the excitement, and all the beautiful people standing side-by-side was an incredible sight to behold. There was LOVE in the air -- a feeling of unity and inclusion that Obama spoke to in his presentation. People from all walks of life -- AMERICANS -- gathered together in my part of the United States to show their support for Barack Obama. The crowd was upbeat and positive and Obama's message 100% inspirational. I was proud. I was moved. I was empowered. My boys stood next to me yelling "Yes, we can" and I was humbled by the moment. I am sure my eldest will not forget today and I am certain that I will not.

Peace
and Love to all
W-

Had a great autumnal weekend with the family

What is new with me.....
I attended a training session for Odyssey of the MInd -- a competitive creative thinking/problem solving organization for kids. My eldest and I will participate for the first time this year. We are excited and I think that we will both learn a lot from this experience.

On Sunday, after church, the family and I went to a local pumpkin patch. It has become our annual fall tradition -- and as expected we had a blast of a time. After a few hours at the patch we took a lovely drive to West Virginia. The changing colors of the season always make me catch my breath. The boys fell asleep in the back of the car and hubby and I enjoyed some great quality time together.

I hope that all of you find time to make memories with your families -- Peace and Hugs to you.

Had fun this weekend!

It was nice to have time be creative this weekend. Here are a few of the cards and layouts I created.

I LOVE TO LAYER
I LOVE TO LAYER
I LOVE TO LAYER
and I rarely throw away anything. Even the smallest scrap can be reused.

I tried a new technique on this page -- stamping on vellum. Most scrappers have a stash of vellum but find it a difficult product to use. Perhaps this technique will inspire to play with your vellum. I used my butterfly and bugs stamp on a plain sheet of vellum with my white embossing powder. I layered the embossed vellum over a sheet of patterned paper and quite like the effect. Give it a try.


I used the lovely Papertrunk papers to create both cards. One uses a lot of layering and the other is a simple design that utilizes my square punch. Both were fun to create.

It is FIRST FRIDAY!!!!!

Every first Friday I host a crop for my girlfriends. The girls get together to talk, eat, drink and scrapbook -- no husbands and no children (well mine are upstairs in their beds.) I have been hosting crops for nearly a year now and I always look forward to the evening. Here are a few pictures from past crops.



I am really fortunate to have found such a giving and creative group of women.
Hugs to you all -- and I hope that you have a fabulous fall weekend.