Scrapping the Past

I promised to show some of the layouts I created during my all day scrap a couple of weeks ago. If you're just tuning in, after the death of my parents 10 and 5 years ago, respectively, I inherited all of my family's photos and am scanning them for posterity and also planning to scrapbook many of them.

All of the papers, stamps, inks, etc. are from Close to My Heart. I'm using their That's Amore collection. I love the papers for their vintage look, and their warm and sort of dusty colors.

As you can see, on most pages I have inserted the journaling pieces but haven't begun to write in it, yet. In fact, I'm not sure any of these pages are finished as far as embellishments!

So, here's a photo of my paternal great grandparents when they immigrated with their children to America in the 1900s. My grandmother is the beautiful young woman on the far left:

And here's the only photo I have of my father as a child:

Here's his high school photo, graduation year; in the group photo, he's the guy on the far right, next to the flag, looking pretty pleased with himself. He didn't know yet that he'd be leaving school to join the Navy in WWII.

And here he is as a young man, wooing his first wife, I think:

It's just a beginning.

Novel Progress

I just made the mistake of looking at the NaNoWriMo website and I saw that there are only 9 more days and some hours until I have to be at 50,000 words. As of this moment, I'm on track with more than 33,000 words but still means I need to get 17,000 or so in the next 9 days. This makes me feel a bit panicked -- especially with the holiday coming up, and my son being off school all next week...

However, within the last few days, I've become very pleased with the plot and the story overall. I never expected this to happen; rather, I was approaching the month of writing as an exercise of sorts. Imagine my surprise when the novel fleshed itself out and took on depth! I truly think this rough draft is going to amount to something special. This makes me very, very happy.

And those crazy things that writers talk about happening that sound pretty unbelievable? Well, I've had some of that, too. One example: I'm telling the story from the point of view of three people, and I'm switching between them as I move the plot forward. Well, as of a couple of days ago one of my minor characters has decided that her voice needs to be heard in first person, too. I didn't agree and ignored her for a while, but she's persistent. So I'm going to add her viewpoint, and maybe another person, as well. This is always good for the word count, too.

My novel still has no title, though, and usually by now one has surfaced. So I'm on the lookout for that as well.

I'll surely be around in the next 9 days but probably less than usual, so please bear with me until I finish this book!

Fab-u-lous

Sweet and saucy Joy from Joy to the Blog has bestowed an award upon me and now I must blog about five of my obsessions! That's not hard; here are five of them, in no particular order:

(1) Vintage Wallpaper

I am completely and utterly besotted with vintage wallpaper, like the kind that Karla Nathan uses in her creations, and sells, too!

(2) Glass Cloches

Like this one, from Fringe Studio. Actually...I'm obsessed with just about anything from Fringe Studio!

(3) Jane Austen books and movie adaptations

I never tire of the books. Also: I've had a lot of sad days lately...and when I'm sad, you can always find me watching a DVD or video of one of my favorite Jane Austen stories. They are like medicine.

(4) Music from the 1980's

Last year for my birthday, my husband had Sirius radio installed in my car; I keep it almost exclusively on the '80's on 8 or 1st Wave stations...although sometimes I will also listen to the Pulse station. I never tire of '80's music.

(5) Project Runway

It's the only show on television that I make a point to watch! Did you catch the Season 6 Finale? Season 7 begins in January!

So, those are my obsessions. I'm passing this award along to any of you who wish to take it and take a turn telling me about your OBSESSIONS!

Heads Up: There's a Sale Coming!

I just wanted to give you a heads up that I'm going to be participating in the Etsy Bloggers Street Team sale coming up next week from the day after Thanksgiving through "Cyber Monday," or, November 27 - 30.
I'm marking down everything* in my vintage Etsy shop, Indulge Your Shelf, 25%!

And it's not just me -- there are many participating shops! I'll post a list of where to find these when the list is finalized.

Whee! Get ready for some shopping!

*(... except button packs which are already very inexpensive, starting at $2.25!)

Artist Class Autumn Banner

I'm so pleased to have finished my second project in Artist Class: this wonderful Autumn Banner by Sandy Babb,the artist and blogger at Quill Cottage. Here it is hanging in my sunny kitchen bay window:

I loved this project...

you wouldn't believe how many steps it had!

(above - here's the reverse...)

I'm so pleased with the results! Where shall I hang it?


By the way, you may remember Sandy as the generous bestower of this wonderful gift I blogged about!

This Has Become Somewhat of a Tradition for Us!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

How Did It Get to Be Friday?

I can't believe this week is almost over! By the time it is, I will have been to the dentist twice, a chiropractor once, and been to a final audition for Wheel of Fortune. I guess that's part of the reason the week flew by...all those extra appointments!

My Wheel of Fortune audition went very well, in that I got as far as one could get and was chosen to stay and go further along with 12 other folks. We played some additional mock games and when it was all said and done they told us we'd know within 2 weeks if we'd made it on the show. Squeal!

The chiropractor thinks he can help my achin' feet within 6-8 visits, so here's hoping!

Here are some more vintage thrift store finds to help you get started on your weekend:

Antique redwork! I am in love with this stuff!


Blue's not so bad either; this will go in my blue, white and yellow bedroom.

I found the prettiest song book...

it makes me wish I could read music!

This yellow floral tablecloth was only $1, and then I found a box of wonderful seam binding in a variety of colors!

Here's a pretty and very delicate (eggshell) Haviland Limoges, France tea cup...

an old transferware plate...

...and a few more odd pieces in Autumn colors! China like this makes me swoon.

I hope you liked looking at all of this as much as I liked showing you. What's on your plate for the weekend?