Thursday, August 27, 2015

Nearing the end of summer!

Good Morning everyone!  I cannot believe that it is August 27th already!  Can you?  For those of you who are having summer right now, it is hard to believe that it's almost over.  I can already feel a bit of chill in the air, especially early in the morning and at night.  I can see that the sky color is changing - becoming brighter and deeper blue, and the days are definitely getting shorter. (When I get up to water my plants in the morning, it's still dark out.) But the biggest difference is that we took our daughter, Katie, back to Penn State University this past Sunday.  It is so quite around here - I'm going to miss her!  Those bittersweet feelings never go away.  And I'm going to miss the hot summer days and swimming in the pool almost every day.  But I know that there are lots of things to look forward to - the fall is my favorite season.  YAY!!  (We will be visiting Penn State at the end of September to see a football game, too.)

Here is something to look forward to right now:


Scrap our Stash's Sketch Challenge #29 is going on till the end of the month!  I am up today at their blog and I would be honored and happy if you checked it out here!

The challenge is a sketch and a tic-tac-toe challenge combined.




Isn't that sketch amazing?  My layout was created using the sketch as my inspiration, then I picked the diagonal row from the tic-tac-toe board and incorporated the color yellow, a summer theme, and stripes onto my page.

Here's my layout:


The photo of Anne taken by our pool this summer. (I just love her smile!!)  And as you can see, I used the summer theme, the color yellow (a few times) and stripes in the awning under the word "hot" on my layout.   

OK, here are some different angles:



And I would like to end my post today sharing some of the photos that I took while on summer vacation two weeks ago.  I feel very blessed that we were able to go on a vacation this summer as a family, including Katie!  We drove up to New England and spent some time driving along the coast.  We enjoyed family and fellowship, along with Lobster rolls and delicious seafood!!!

Here are some of my favorite photos:

Mystic, CT

At the Mystic Aquarium:

Cape Cod, MA:

Plymouth, MA:

And finally, Portland, ME:


I hope you enjoyed taking a walk through our vacation . . . .

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today!  Enjoy these last days of summer, my friends!  HUGS!

20 comments:

  1. That is a very complex sketch, and you brilliantly nailed it with your summer page, from the hot background to the blue spotted duck.
    Love the photos too, of a place I will never visit, you've made it look enchanting.

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  2. Gorgeous! LOVING the colors and the clouds and love love love your photos!! Beautiful!!!!!!!

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  3. wonderful photos and art, as always. Happy PPF, hugs, Valerie

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  4. That is a lovely sketch for inspiration and your layout is very summery with the sun and the water melon! Lovely photos of your holiday too, they look like postcards! Really lovely places! And we are heading into spring here, be glad to leave those cold mornings! And I have no idea where August has gone, I feel like I have been very unproductive this month! Oh well I hope next month will be better!

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  5. Aaah your summer sounds amazing! ;-) We are so pleased that Spring has arrived early and the days are certainly warm enough to call summer! So yes, this side of the world, the earth is waking! ;-) Your page is gorgeous and it smacks of summer, sun and lazy days by the pool! ;-) Your photo's also amazing from your vacation and such beautiful places! So nice that you were able to get away with the famil, have a change of scenery and pace! xx

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  6. This looks fabulous. I love the bright colours! I just remember that I made a layout for scrap yourself, better post it before the deadline! (Thanks for reminding me, LOL - if you didn't stop by my blog I would have forgotten)

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  7. Hello Sharon! I can't believe it's the end of summer either, so fast it goes. I'm not ready to let go of it quite yet since I know the winters have been long and cold lately. But FALL is my favorite too and I am almost ready, lol. I can tell it's coming too, much cooler nights and mornings, had jeans and coats on the last 3 days, YUCK!

    What a fun prompt/bingo card this is, you are so good at these. I LOVE this layout, so pretty and summery!!

    YAY for a vacation with family, beautiful pictures. Nice that Katie could be there with you for it. Hugs for you mom as you are missing her. Enjoy the last of these days too!

    We've watched Middle the last few nights, good ones, Sam is hooked on it again now with me. Can't wait to see the new ones and Susan in college now, how fun it will be!!

    Take care and your family too dear friend. xo

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  8. you've done wonderful justice to your choice with the tic tac toe - love the colours... bright and summery for sure.... I'm sorry you are loosing your summer... but its our turn!!! We need it now!! hee hee! Roll on Spring.... we are sooooooo 'over' Winter!

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  9. you captured the full Spirit of summer in this sketch, it Looks wonderful! oh well, the bitter-sweetness when the Kids fly out of the nest... but seems you really had a gorgeous vacation and thanks for sharing all These beautiful photos of (to me) unknown places!

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  10. Always lovely visiting your blog... especially when you do the travelogue thing for the good ole USA....it deffo IS on my list, the East Coast. Looks amazing! And so does your page. I'm a big fan of brights....& this ticks all my boxes:) Hope you don't miss your girl too, too much:/...

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  11. That challenge looks very complicated, I wouldn't know where to begin .... Your page looks beautiful, I really like the composition and the colours!

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  12. Lovely page - great take on the challenge!

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  13. Oh, Sharon, your photos are always so beautiful, and your page is so fun! Such a unique take on the sketch! So full of happy color and playful, "summer" elements!

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  14. Awe, the sweet days of summer! Makes me smile!

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  15. Oh what a fun challenge that would have been. Love your layout super cute and your trip looked like you had an amazing time!

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  16. Hello Sharon ...
    Really, I loved this page, you increasingly creative. I loved this idea of green fabric circle :) Your look at the picture is super cool too.

    Hugs.
    X

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  17. My favorite season is fall too! I love the layout so much. It's bright and totally fun. Your photography is stunning. The lighthouse photo is my favorite as it looks so tranquil.

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  18. Your page is fabulous! Perfect for the lovely photo. Lots of layers and texture - such warm colours and just general awesomeness! xxx

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  19. Your layout just screams summer, I keep thinking Tutti Fruitti , I think because of the lovely colours. Love the holiday snaps especially the light house & the last one the clouds are amazing. Looks like a beautiful family holiday
    Mary x

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  20. Your last two photos are breathtaking. Yup...our days are getting longer and after a very grey and wet winter we are seeing the sun again...and that makes me happy.

    Love your whimsical take on the sketch.

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