Nihao, Cupcake!

Stretch Your Sketches #2 & Spring in Beijing

This is my forth layout in 2 weeks. And my second for the Stretch Your Sketches challenge series at Ella Publishing.

SPRING IN BEIJING

As the weather has started to change from winter to spring, here in Beijing, I've been thinking a lot about the changes I see around me and wanted to document them.

The trees begin to bloom.
 
People stand in trees to take photos.

People stick their kids in trees and take photos.

Little white fluffy cotton like whisps are floating through the air. Sometimes it almost looks as if it is snowing.

All the crazies come out (last year at this time I caught my pickpocketer in the act)

The already chaotic traffic patterns become even more so. There are official rules and then there are unwritten traffic rules. But when the weather turns, even those unwritten ones are broken.

Less layers. We put away the long underwear and the wool coat. Also the hats, scarves & gloves.

No more tights. Wearing boots less.

Turning off the humidifiers as the natural humidity increases.

No heat or air conditioning. (The government turns off the heat in March. A/C doesn't come on until June.)

Lots of wind and clear blue skies.

People start to paint things - refreshing the lines on the streets, repainting walls, planters, et.

The door men change into their warm weather uniforms and abandon the big heavy army green coats (migrant workers too).

Construction projects start up again after the huge long break after Chinese New Year.

The heavy army green blankets that hang in doorways are removed. No more heat to hold in. The clear plastic strips that retain the A/C are yet to go up. 

Men sit on wooden planks and hang from ropes to wash the windows of my building.

What changes do you notice as the seasons change in your part of the world? Tell me the first two things that come to mind.

 

I Made a Scrapbook Layout! (Stretch Your Sketches)

 

The last year or so, I have been the habit of only scrapbooking during LOAD (Layout A Day challenge). So, it is very exciting to throw together a layout, just for fun! Not that LOAD isn't for fun, but hopefully, you know what I mean.

I used a sketch from Ella Publishing's Stretch Your Sketches challenge series. It's based on a book by Donna Januzzi that is full of wonderful sketches and layout ideas based off of those sketches.

 One of the two layouts I have ever had published is featured in that book! (To see it, click here.)

Until September Ella Publishing will post a new layout on the 1st & 3rd Mondays of the month on their blog and at month's end will choose a winner at random to win a prize.

 

Ella Stretch Your Sketches Week #3

 

Supplies: Chipboard Heart, letter stickers & journaling pen (American Crafts), word stickers (Making Memories)

Journaling: What could be better than a backyard filled with friends, an electric train toddlers can ride and a giant choo-choo cake?

For the third week in a row I have participated in Ella Publishing's 6 Week of Sketches. This week's sketch was a five photo, one page sketch. (See below) So that it would fit my photos and layout I flipped the sketch to the right 90 degrees and then for the other page of the spread I used a mirror image of the flipped sketch.

 

I love to do two page spreads with lots of photos and rarely end up cropping. These photos were perfect for this sketch because they were old so I did not fill the camera frame as much as I do these days and I had plenty to cut down into small squares. I still have a lot of photos that I love from this event so I will include them in the album (3-ring) in divided page protectors. 

I can't believe my little boy in these photos is now 11 and a half! Where does the time go. As much as I love the stage he is at now and I love to watch him grow and mature, I miss those carefree and adorable days of toddlerhood. No more choo-choo birthdays for us.

Be sure to come back again tomorrow for another page or two for my travel album. I'm doing a layout a day for the entire month of February as part of LayOut A Day challenge. Check out my February 1st post for more details.

Thanks for stopping by!

edited: I decided to let this layout count for my LOAD Day 4 and take a day off from my travel album. Jet lag is really catching up with me and I need some rest! There will be another page tomorrow. : )

Stretch Your Sketches | Ella Publishing Co.

via www.ellapublishing.com

Ella Publishing released their brand new eBook today. And guess what? One of my digital pages is in it! I'm very excited. It's only my second published page if you don't count the one that appeared on the Ella blog that got me the opportunity in the first place. There are a lot of great sketches in there and some really nice examples. You should check it out!