Cotillion and a Confession / Pink Paislee

I am acutely aware of how "sparse" the blog posts have been lately and I apologize now. I will also put it out there that there will probably be a lull in blogging for another week or so. I hope and pray no longer. See, my dSLR have been sent out for an overhaul. It's a LONG over due service call for my well loved, well used trusty stead of a camera. Without it, I am lost. Literally and metaphorically.

The quality of pictures that I get with my 9 year old Nikon D50 are okay, but it take a lot more work to get them to that quality. One must look through the viewfinder and the preview is literally 2 inches wide. I need a magnifying glass to see it! We really don't realize how spoiled we are these days until such necessary repairs opens our eyes...

While I could post pictures of crafty goodness that are okay, they aren't up to the quality and standard that I like. And if I don't like it, I'm not inclined to share it. You get that, right? So, hopefully trusty ol' Nikon will put their elves to work quickly and ship my camera back to me soon. Like very soon. The holiday's are around the corner, Christmas card pictures need to be taken, my blog needs some love and I just need my camera back. It is so much more than something that takes pictures.

I have learned, in it's absence, that my camera is also a comfort to me. It's almost an extension of me. I hide behind it in uncomfortable social situations. If I'm busy getting that correct exposure and composing a picture, I don't have to talk to anybody. I don't have to make small talk that I don't really care for. I don't have to find something trivial to fill the silence that is awkard to you but I'm quite okay with. And while I knew that this was the case, I didn't realize the extent of it. I am now standing with eyes wide open!

I did manage, after many tries, to get these pictures to share with you today. A layout about Nikolas' first Cotillion.

The sketch that this layout is based on, is a PageMaps sketch that I found on the Bella Blvd blog. I started off with Bella Blvd goodies but things evolved and I ended up using Pink Paislee. It's funny the side paths that we take in life and scrapping. Thank you PageMaps and Bella Blvd for the inspiraton!

This Cocoa Daisy dance steps stamp was given to me quite some time ago by Deborah. She actually gave it to me to use on a Daddy-Daughter dance layout however, it just never seemed to be appropriate. Michael doesn't dance. Nikolas, however, does dance. At Cotillion. Under duress! The stamp works really well on one of the Pink Paislee pocket scrapping cards for this layout!

Core'dinations cardstock, though not used to it's fullest capacity, makes and outstanding blocked border for this layout. And layers, layers of goodies. Clean and simple, the way I like it!

Love the little pennants at the border, poking out from under the edge. So incredibly simple yet it just makes my scrappy heart happy. As they say, it's the little things!

So friends and followers, that is my share for the day. The week too, I guess. I promise, I'm still scrapping and there will be lots to see coming up. And once my trusty ol' camera comes back all tuned up, there will be an abundance to share! Thanks for hanging in there with me!