Zipline!!

Well, we're halfway through August and thst means that the newest CSI : Color, Stories, Inspiration case is up and ready for you to solve!!

Here's a look at this fun case:

And here's the layout that I made with it!




In 2015, my husband and I planned a short getaway to this great place : Long Point Eco Adventures. Originally, I just wanted to go glamping, and that was it. But my husband, although he didn't come out and say it at the time really wanted to go ziplining. This girl?? Is terrified of heights. Like, pee your pants terrified. After much consideration and changing my mind about 5 times, I agreed to go with him and we booked our time. They offered a photo package, and we took them up on it if only to be able to prove to everyone that I actually did it!!

Here's how I solved the case :

COLOURS

All the colours are there, and they are the perfect combo for these photos!!

EVIDENCE

Stripes
Wood
Clouds - on one of my wood circles, upper right hand side
Trees
Twine, Jute, String

TESTIMONY

I chose the "Document an Adventure" clue and also used the presentation "hang your journaling from string" clue as inspiration for my photo treatment on this layout.

Journaling

In August of 2015, Richard and I decided to go on a little getaway. I’d been wanting to try glamping and so we settled on a little place called Long Point Eco Adventures near Turkey Point, Ontario.
What a beautiful place - so many things to do like kayaking, fishing, hiking, sailing, ziplining and they also have an observatory. Plus, a bonus for me, right across the road from the Burning Kiln Winery!
Now, some of those things appeal more to me than others, but a fear of heights makes the idea of ziplining scare me silly! At first I didn’t even want to try, but felt bad that Richard wouldn’t go without me. So, I bit the bullet, swallowed my fear and we booked our ziplining adventure.
Not going to lie, I was petrified to start. The worst zip was the one at the very beginning - that first step off the very safe, sturdy tower was huge for me! Richard was so much braver than I, and at one point he zipped across while laying down!!
Each time we zipped from platform to platform it got a little easier…and then we came to the first bridge. Which, unbeknownst to me, they rock a bit as you are going across. I just about lost it there. At the next bridge, they very kindly asked first if anyone wanted to cross instead of lean. I crossed.
The longest zipline was the one I liked the best. Not only because it was close to the end, but it also had the most beautiful view! I finally managed to convince myself to look around while zipping instead of just staring straight ahead.
The last platform could only be left by a 40 foot rappel - another fear that I had no choice but to face. A moment to be proud of for myself, as I did it, without too much hesitation. It helped that Richard went first and was waiting for me below.
Would I go again? Maybe…


Here's some closeups of my page:

I'm highlighting this photo because I think it's hilarious that they START your adventure taking your picture near this sign. See me hanging on for dear life there??? Also, to the left of the photo, you can just see how I looped my string through a tiny needle hole to hold it secure on the layout.

This is showing the embellishment cluster on the top right hand side of the page. I ended up keeping the embellishments to a minimum, since there were so many pictures to help tell the story.

And, finally a closeup of the title work. I love these foam letters from American Crafts - they look like a typewriter font but are also a bit swirly and fun.

One thing that I didn't take a photo of and should have, was the little tab at the top of the journaling block. I stamped it with my Studio Calico date stamp and it says "Kind of a Big Deal" - Fitting no?? I also used this stamp on the lower right hand side of the page to help document the date of the pictures.

Thanks for popping by and checking out my page today! I hope you'll join us in solving this fun case!!

New Month, New CSI

It's August!!!

And, if it's August that means that the first of 2 new challenges from CSI : Color, Stories, Inspiration is ready to go!! I hope you'll come and play along with us this month - we have lots of great sponsors and some great prizes to be won!!

Here's the casefile for this challenge :

And, here's what I made with it!

So, if you've followed me at all, you know that I rate purple right up there with pink. They are my favorites. No, no they are not. But since this is supposed to challenge us, I took purple on!!


Here's how I solved this case:

COLOURS AND SKETCH

All the colours are there. I liked the sketch and tried to follow it as much as possible. An extra challenge for me was making the colours go with my pictures - my dojos colours are red, yellow and green. Changing the photos to black and white solved this problem quite well. I also had the challenge with the number of photos I wanted to use - too many for a 12x12 page, but too few for a 12x24. You'll see my solution in a minute if you keep reading!

EVIDENCE

Solid white cardstock background
Polka dots - hard to see but I used a polka dot vellum over the white background
People icons - chipboard karate figure
Something shaped like floaties - my eyelets at the bottom of the page

TESTIMONY

I chose the prompt clue, and then chose #3 on the list - "Your Most Prized Moments"

Journaling

In total I have been studying Okinawan (Goju Ryu) Karate for about a year and a half. I started training as a way of being able to connect more with my husband and kids as well as for the physical benefits of working out. The program offered at my dojo includes body conditioning. I also am challenged mentally - thinking differently about how my body moves and remembering the series of movements in a kata (both open hand and in weapons) is something that is really hard for me.

About 8 weeks before the date of this tournament, I started learning how to use the Sai. I didn’t learn them specifically for the tournament, I learned how to use them just for the fun of learning something new.

Admittedly, I didn’t really feel nervous about the tournament until the day. And even then, I didn’t feel very nervous until our class was called. I’ve never competed in a formal setting for anything before. My friend Janna who studies karate with me was beside me competing as well. I was so happy to have her there because without her I would have been lost & EVEN MORE nervous than I already was. Of course, it didn’t help that we had to wait literally all day long for our class to be called. And then, everyone that was still there from our dojo and all of our Senseis were watching while we performed our katas. AND we had to perform in front of 3 other Senseis that we did not know as well as all the other participants in our class. So, with all that against me, it seemed inevitable that I would make a mistake at some point. And I did, both within the kata and afterwards as well. Thankfully, they were all overlooked by the Senseis to some degree, although I did not place for my open hand kata.

When it came time to for kobuto, it turned out that I was the only student in my class to present a kata. I thought that getting a first place for it at the end didn’t seem like much of an accomplishment since there wasn’t anyone to compete against, but Sensei John explained that the judges could have awarded a second or third, depending on my performance. I felt better about it after that.

It seems that this old dog CAN learn new tricks!!!



And, now for some closeups and the solution to my size problem!!

I opted to go for the middle of the road and make my page flip out to be 12x18!! Here you see how it opens up and where I journaled.

To keep the design cohesive, I kept the papers & ribbon on the top six-inch flap the same as the ones on the bottom 12x12 piece lining them up before attaching the flap to the layout. That way when the flap is closed, the patterned papers & ribbon looks the same all the way across.

To do this I attached a 4x12 piece of white cardstock which I scored down the middle to the BACK of the white cardstock, and the attached a 6x12 piece of cardstock to the BACK of that, lining it up with the 12x12 piece. Then I took another piece of 6x12 cardstock and attached it to the TOP of the 4x12 flap after I printed my journaling on it to complete the foldout. It sounds a little confusing, but it works!!

Adding the extra piece allowed me to expand the design of the page and store some more memories in the little pocket which you can see here.

Here you can see my little "karate girl", which is just a chipboard man shape that I chose to leave raw. There is no yellow in the combo, but that was the colour of my belt at the time of the competition, so I got sneaky and slipped it in.

This photo shows the photo of all the students and Senseis from my dojo who came to the competition. It's one of the extra pieces I have tucked in the pocket. I wouldn't be able to do this without all the support that my dojo family gives me, and I'm so proud to be a part of this great organization. Also in there I have one of the scorecards with my name and age on it. It was for part of the competition that I did not participate in, so I kept it for this layout.

Here's some closeups of my title work. In our dojo, we have the tradition of each student being given a nickname. My Sensei chose to give me the nickname Kamikaze which I gave the definition of, placing it on the pocket. The definition of Kamikaze is : Kamikaze (神風, [kamikaꜜ͜dze]; "divine wind" or "spirit wind"). It's really a beautiful definition, and the complete opposite of what the word is known for.

And finally, here's a few closeups showing photos that a friend took during my weapons kata and a photo from the plaque ceremony after. In the second photo you can see the seam of the 6x12 addition.

Thanks for popping by to check out my page today! I hope you'll come and join us over at CSI!!