Monthly Archives: September 2008

Altered Art: CD Tin

Altered Art CD Tin Made With Scrapbooking Supplies by Reminisce, Scenic Route, Prima, Ranger and Fiskars

Supplies Used:

This was a fun project, and it was very quick and easy ~ just the way I like projects to be. I painted the tin with Meadow alcohol ink and let it dry. While it was drying, I traced circles on the backs of the papers using my circle template that was meant to be used with the Fiskars Shape Xpress. Then I cut around the circles with the Fiskars paper edgers. I sewed the button to the Prima flower and colored the letter stickers green. Then I attached all the pieces to the tin, and traced around the letter stickers with the orange Sharpie. So simple!

Thanks for dropping by. šŸ™‚ Hope you are having a lovely and creative day.

Scrapbooking Layout: Brian Head, Utah. Supplies by Reminisce.

My husband and his friends are really into mountain biking. This past August, we took a trip to Brian Head, Utah, so they could ride in a race that was taking place there. I actually took my bike along for the trip too. It was so much fun, even though I fell off my bike a bunch of times and got totally scraped, bruised and sunburned.

Normally when I go on these trips I take a camera, but not a bike. These guys are really experienced riders, and I am not. I do enjoy riding the trails with my husband, but it’s not as much fun for me when he gets together with a bunch of hardcore riders and they decide to ride down really insane terrain. To that, I say, “No thanks!”


I usually have more fun taking photos of them than I would have if I were attempting to ride with them. I took quite a few photos on this Utah trip~ almost 1,000 photos all together. No, I am not going to scrapbook them all. šŸ˜‰ But I am picking out all my favorites to print and scrap.

It was sooooooooooooo beautiful up there in the mountains, and it was hard to take a bad picture up there. Everywhere I looked, there was gorgeous scenery. Pretty incredible! Utah is just spectacular.

The rider pictured in this scrapbook layout is my husband. For his cycling layouts, I try to keep it simple- definitely no paper lace, ribbons, or Prima Flowers. The truth is that my husband would rather just have his photos stuck in albums. He does humor me with my scrapbooking, but I try not to press my luck and go too crazy with embellishing his bike photos. šŸ˜‰


Interestingly enough, I’ve found that he seems to like the layouts I’ve been doing lately with Reminisce’s Great outdoors line. The papers are really ideal for this kind of layout — much better suited than the few-and-far-between bike-themed papers that I’ve seen. I do dream about the day when someone will release a downhill mountain biking themed collection, but until then the Great Outdoors line is the next best thing.

Supplies Used To Create This Scrapbooking Layout:

  • Camping Alphabet Stickers: by Reminisce, from the Great Outdoors Collection
  • Wilderness Map / Trail Map patterned paper: by Reminisce, also from the Great Outdoors Collection
  • The Great Outdoors Journal Stickers by Reminisce
  • The strip of Camouflage patterned paper is by K & Co.
  • Black Sharpie Marker
  • Gray Cardstock
  • Fiskars Paper Edgers — I think this design is called “Mountains”. It seemed appropriate. This particular design is now hard to find, but you could substitute either a pair of pinking shears or a different pair of paper edgers. There are a zillion of ’em. If you are doing a “guy” layout like this one, it’s a good idea to avoid the ones that are too froofroo, but you have quite a few choices available.

Another Tropical Themed Scrapbook Layout: Manhattan Beach, CA Meets Tropical Fusion by Reminisce

California Beach Themed Scrapbooking Layout

My scanner cut off the side of this layout, so I took another photo with the digital camera. Unfortunately the light isn’t so great this afternoon and so this is another not-so-stellar photo, complete with glare from the flash. *sigh* But at least you will get the idea. šŸ™‚
Tropical Themed Scrapbooking Layout

My husband and I spend a lot of time at the beach. It’s one of the perks of living in California…

Supplies Used in this Scrapbook Layout:

Thanks for dropping by! Hope you are having a lovely weekend.

Scrapbooking Updates: Clear Scraps Design Team! Plus Reminisce Tropical Layout and Greeting Card

Hello my lovely blog readers! I am long overdue for a blog update! And I am thrilled and delighted to announce what has been keeping me so busy- I just found out a few days ago that I am going to be part of the Clear Scraps Design Team!!! YIPPEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! I am so excited to be a part of this fantastic, talented team. So you guys can look forward to seeing some new clear albums and chipboard albums from me very soon! I have also been sooo busy working on new scrapbook layouts and greeting cards. Here is one of them:

Tropical Scrapbooking Layout With Bananas and Hibiscus Flowers. Supplies by Reminisce, Prima Marketing, and Basic Grey. Layout by Amy Solovay.

Mike & I love making blender drinks with bananas, coconut milk, oranges, and other assorted fruits- whatever is on hand. Sometimes strawberries, blueberries, and limes- sometimes not. Actually I am thinking of creating a brand new mini album featuring tropical drink recipes. Perhaps that would make nice gifts for friends, plus I think that it would be a fun project!

I originally meant to include some drink recipes on this layout, but I ended up not adding them because the stamp set I wanted to use hasn’t come in yet and I got impatient to get the layout done. Which, to my way of thinking, is much better than having unfinished projects hanging around! I am so happy with the way this turned out, and I must say that it’s a lot less cluttered than it probably would have been if I’d put the recipes on as planned. At any rate, this is a memory I definitely wanted to record, because making blender drinks has been such a significant part of our lives lately. We recently got a Champion Juicer, and ever since then we have been juicing and making tropical drinks constantly.

Scrapbooking Supplies For This Layout are Mostly By Reminisce:

The “Tropical Fusion” collection is one of my favorites- aren’t those letter stickers in the title just the coolest thing? LOVE how colorful and creative they are! That has got to be my favorite part of the whole layout. Love those stickers! If you need some supplies to make a similar layout or project, check out this Tropical Fusion Kit for sale by a seller on ebay. I have purchased from that seller before and received great products and fantastic service, and her kit is priced very attractively.

I also wanted to show you a tropical themed card that I made a few days ago. I went on a cardmaking spree, and completed quite a few greeting cards, but I wasn’t all that happy with how most of the cards turned out. So at this point I am not sure I want to show them to you. Out of all the cards I made that day, this one is my favorite:

Handmade Greeting Card by Amy Solovay. Papers & Supplies by Reminisce, Prima Marketing, Autumn Leaves and Bazzill.

This is an everyday, all-purpose type greeting card that you could send anytime. It is colorful and fun, and it was very simple to make.

Supplies Used To Make This Greeting Card:

If you make a dark-colored card like this, make sure you have a white or light colored pen or pencil so that the ink will be visible when you write on it. I love using white pens to write on dark cardstock! Check out this Milky Way White Marker by American Crafts– one perfectly chic solution for writing with white. Love it! You can also stamp your sentiment with white ink if you prefer to stamp the inside of your greeting card.

Thanks so much for dropping by, and for your interest in my work. I really appreciate it that you took a peek. Hope you found some inspiration! Please come back soon!

Mountain Biking: Brian Head, Utah NMBS Races (+ Crash Photos)

My husband, Mike, mountain biking in Brian Head, Utah

My husband, Mike, mountain biking in Brian Head, Utahbria

Three of us, plus four bikes, made a road trip from Santa Barbara, California up to Brian Head, Utah for the NMBS (National Mountain Bike Series) mountain bike races. I did ride on this trip, but I didn’t want to race; instead, I spent most of my time taking pictures of the riders on the mountain.


In all, I ended up taking more than 1,000 photos. I shot most of them during the practice runs the guys were taking down the pro course.

This was an interesting course, because there were 2 choices for the line you could take down. There was a ā€œhardā€ line which took the riders down over a bunch of rocks plus an insane drop. My photos really don’t do this spot justice at all~ they fail to convey how big the drop was.


My opinion: You’d have to be a NUT CASE to ride a bike down that!


And then there was the ā€œeasyā€ way down, which was not easy, either, by any stretch of the imagination. I overheard more than one rider saying that the hard way was actually easier than the easy way, all things considered.


On the other hand, all the crashes I witnessed ~ and there were quite a few of them ~ Took place on the harder spot.


So, I thought I’d share some crash photos with you all. Here are some highlights:

Brian Head Utah Downhill MTB Crash: Brad Jensen #598

Here we have some photos of Brad Jensen, an Oneal / Azonic sponsored rider who raced the men’s expert-master 45-49 class.



Brad started off strong…
Downhill Mountain Biking in Brian Head, Utah
Looking good so far…
Until right about here, when all of a sudden I’m thinking that something looks amiss.
The Pro Downhill Mountain Bike Course at the National MTB Race in Brian Head, Utah
WHOOPS!
AAAAAACKKKKK. Who put that hay bale there?Downhill Mountain Bike Crash in Brian Head, Utah

OUCH!!!

Downhill Mountain Bike Crash in Brian Head, Utah

Double ouch. Nothing like getting whacked by your own bike.


Downhill Mountain Bike Crash in Brian Head, UT

Right about now, I have to ask, where’s the rest of your padding, Brad? Are you nuts? Dude, if you’re going to ride down insane terrain like this, get some elbow pads. Seriously. A longer pair of protective Shin guards wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.


Downhill Mountain Bike Crash in Brian Head, Utah

We’re SO RELIEVED to see you got right back up! Major props. That looked like quite a spill. Hope you didn’t suffer any lasting injuries after that one.

Unidentified Rider Crashes During the Practice Runs for the National Mountain Bike Series Races in Brian Head, Utah

Despite making a valiant effort to identify this rider, I was unable to figure out who he is — but I sure would love to know. If this is you or one of your friends, please comment and identify him so we can give him the props he deserves for this spectacular crash. Thanks! šŸ™‚



He’s approaching the drop.
Downhill Mountain Biker Bombing Down the Mountain in Brian Head, Utah

Did I mention, you’d have to be a complete maniac to even attempt this trail?

Not kidding. My photos do not do it justice. It’s impossible to get a sense of just how big and insane this part is unless you actually stood at the top, looking down.

OK, so he launched off of it… Not bad, so far. Looking good…Will he land this?


The Downhill Pro Course at the National Mountain Bike Series Races in Brian Head, Utah

Looks like he’s clearing that sketchy spot here. YES! Rock on!
Expert Downhill Mountain Biker in Brian Head, Utah
Wait a minute…wait a minute…UH-Oh. Here’s something you don’t see every day ~ an expert mountain biker face-planting right into a bale of hay.
MMMMMmmmmm. Yummy hay!
Expert Mountain Biker Crashing on the Pro Course in Brian Head, Utah

Ouch, ouch, ouch.
Mountain Biker Crashes into a Hay Bale During Practice Runs for the NMBS Mountain Bike Races in Brian Head, Utah

Let’s take a closer look at that.
Oh my.
Yep, looks painful.
Expert Mountain Biker Crashing on the Pro Downhill Course at Brian Head, UT
WhoooHOOOOO!!!! Super stoked to see him get up after that.Expert Mountain Biker Crashed on the National Mountain Bike Series Races Pro Course in Brian Head, Utah

Great crash, dude. Hope you are not too banged up, bruised up or scraped up after that!

I am wondering at this point, is there anyone who raced the downhill pro course at Brian Head who didn’t crash? I saw plenty of injuries, scrapes, bruises, and ripped jerseys. (If you need to buy a new jersey because yours got too thrashed, make sure to check out the cycling gear comparison search engine Mike programmed at xc-mountainbike.com to buy the best gear at the best prices.)

Our Race Results

Chris W. was planning on racing the downhill course. Mike wasn’t planning on racing, or maybe just racing the Super D. But in the end that’s not how things worked out.

Mike didn’t bring a downhill bike, so he wasn’t sure if he would be able to race the downhill course. Then when he actually saw the downhill courses, he thought the sport class downhill trail looked easily do-able on his bike, so he decided to go for it. And he definitely wanted to race the Super D too after seeing how much fun that trail was.

In the end, the Super D got rained out and rescheduled to a time that conflicted with his downhill race, so he just ended up racing the downhill. And got a flat. Bummer!

His time wasn’t bad, considering the flat. And he did walk away with a medal.

Chris, on the other hand, hadn’t been planning on racing the Super D until Mike told him how much fun the Super D trail was. He had just been planning on racing the downhill. So he did race the Super D, but never made it to the downhill. Here’s what happened to Chris just hours before his downhill race:

Funny, because I’d been taking plenty of crash photos of everyone else eating dirt, and Chris had been laughing his head off. I told him, ā€œDude, make sure you don’t do anything stupid unless I have the camera there to take photos of it.ā€

Did he listen to me? NO. šŸ™ So I don’t have any photos of his crash, although I do have plenty of pics of him where he made it down the mountain just fine. He made it look easy.

Chris riding the pro course at Brian Head, before his big crash

Chris riding the pro course at Brian Head, before his big crash

That’s my friend Chris for you…he was nuts enough to ride a bike down that, and he has the cast to prove it.


The injury put a damper on what was otherwise an epic trip. We’re definitely planning to ride Brian Head again — wouldn’t hesitate to go back (although you won’t find me attempting that pro course any time soon — NO WAY!)


Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are enjoying your week, and that you’re getting plenty of riding time in… Be sure to check back soon for even more crash photos, plus a lot of pics of guys that actually made it without crashing. šŸ™‚ Brian Head, Utah, Aug 2008…FUN times and (mostly) happy memories. šŸ™‚