Starting off the week with yet another layout.....

I'm on a roll with creating layouts.

I'm a longtime reader of Stephanie Howell's blog.  She shares her life as an army wife & mom to 4 beautiful daughters.  I enjoy reading about the latest escapades of the "chicks" - that Sadie slays me with just a look.  It brings back memories of having little ones in the house & life at that stage.  She's honest with the good & bad in each day while remembering to be thankful in all things.  My heart aches for her when her hubby is deployed in some of the most dangerous places in the world.  She is an amazing strong woman.  Recently she posted that she was doing her first class at Big Picture Classes called Ties That Bind.  It's all about capturing the relationships we have in our lives.  It is a self paced class & you have access to it for 2 years.  If you want more information click here.

The class gave me lots of visual inspiration but more importantly it gave me inspiration to dig deeper into capturing memories & sharing with my family my feelings about them.  Not a superficial who, what, where, when style page.  You had to figure something got me excited about layouts again when this is the 3rd post in a row.  The journaling is more personal (I'm glad I hadn't journaled on the pages I started at the crop).

This page is about my Grami.  I recently received a bunch of old family photos since my Aunt moved in with us.  I adore this photo.  It is a visual of what my grandma tried to teach me all the time since I hated to have my picture taken.  She'd say it's not about how you look that will make it a good picture of you it's how you feel about yourself.... relax & be confident.  This picture shows her doing just that.  She was beautiful inside & out.  I miss her every day.  I was so close to her & feel like everything I like about myself I got from her.  I was even named after her... she's Sue.

One of the best things about living where my grandparents raised their kids was being right across the bridge from an amazing family run historical amusement park that is still going strong today.  They were able to go to Kennywood Park many times during the season.  School & church picnics, an entire Saturday, or a few hours an evening after work.  Every year each family member got their picture taken under the yearly sign.

I like the easy breezy feel of American Crafts Dear Lizzy 5th & Frolic (3 different papers front & back - I love how American Crafts does a different pattern on the back of the marketing strip so that gave me 3 more prints).  It's funky & fresh.  It mixed well with some older supplies I had on hand in my stash.

Sorry for the poor quality photo....
I've been lazy & using the iphone instead of bringing out the "big camera" dslr

Inside the pocket gave me plenty of room for journaling. 

I added a My Mind's Eye brad just because :)

The more superficial  who what where when journaling was in the pocket

at the bottom I shared a personal memory of Grami that she taught me.

 The wooden arrow from Pink Paislee reminded me of the arrow in the

Kennywood logo that you will see all over town to point the way to the park.

I made this little pocket by folding up the double sided paper & closing

the sides with Teresa Collins Tell Your Story washi tape.

Making Memories Tiny Types - even though everyone does them now these are still my favorites.

-- take note people don't do shiny stickers --

American Crafts flare is like a button that we wore on our denim jackets.

2 different size doilies from Little Yellow Bicycle & a 

festive pin with a pennant from House of 3 Pink Paislee

cute chipboard embellishments from October Afternoon Sidewalks collection.

of course everything is better with a bit of twine & some machine stitching

Thanks again Stephanie for inspiring me.

Hope you have a fabulous Monday & remember to do something creative