Rain, Rain Go Away...

It has been raining, more off than on, all week long; and I am at the point where I just.want.it.to.stop! My backyard has fairly decent drainage; however, due to all the never-ending rain, the right back corner has become a mud pit. I'm talking, it's the kind of mud pit that wrestlers could thrash around in or that you would envision from Woodstock. Okay, it's not THAT big but it IS that muddy! So, today, what did two of my dogs, Bella and Coco, have to do? You see where this is going, don't you? Yes, they had to go an pretty much wallow in the mud. Bella, who is a white maltese, was almost completely black; Coco wasn't much better. I had to carry each dog in individually to the sink and hose them off before I was able to get them clean enough to bathe them. Then for the remainder of the day, my son and I had to stand guard in front of the mud pit every time we let the dogs back outside because that was, naturally, the first place Bella and Coco wanted to run.

My desire for sun has also apparently manifested itself in my Scraplifting 101 Challenge on SB.com. Three of the four layouts I chose had the sun in them, and the fourth used lots or orange/yellow papers.

I can deal with all the humidity - I'm completely used to that by now. But I would really, really appreciate it if someone would turn off the water that keeps pouring out of the sky and turn the sun back ON!

Steampunk

Today I tried my hand at my first "Steampunk" themed layout for the Dark Side Challenge at Scrapbook.com. I've been fascinated by Steampunk since I first heard about it over a year ago. What is Steampunk, you ask? Well, different people have slightly different views but most agree that it is something along the lines of an alternate reality Victorian-style era, full of fanciful contraptions often powered by steam or clock-like cogs. Dirigibles, not airplanes, are the preferred mode of travel in the Steampunk world. Are you confused yet? Think Jules Verne's fictional inventions, or the machinery and goggles in Tim Burton's Nine, or even Disney's own Treasure Planet - all Steampunk.

So then, what makes a layout Steampunk? The best way to describe my idea of a Steampunk layout is if shabby chic were to marry grunge and they were to have a child who took hallucinogenic drugs. You have distressing; you have victorian era embellishments, buttons and trim; and you have things you just don't see in this reality. Examples in my layout are the butterfly that is part safety pin and the picture of a princess with jewels in place of her eyes. And, of course, the clocks and gears - they are pretty standard Steampunk. But really, let your imagination and creativity run wild. If it looks a little weird, chances are it's perfect!

Now that you (hopefully) have a better idea as to what Steampunk is, I encourage you to give it a try on a layout. We can all look at flower tutorials another day - today get crazy and indulge yourself by adding a little fantasy to your layout. The only limit is your imagination.