Precious Ole Cowboy

Before I get into the above-reference cowboy topic, I'm happy to announce that Aidan is back from taking his first SAT test and he feels very good about how he did. He said there was only one math problem he just flat didn't know how to do, and he feels like he "definitely got right" at least 80% of all the questions, although he ran out of time to be able to finish his essay the way he wanted to (he had five minutes left in which to wrap it up, so he had to leave out a lot of what he wanted to say). So we'll see in ... oh, say five years or so ... whether how well he thought he did matches up with reality. (It takes ages to find out your scores on these things) Next try is in March.

So, okay, while Aidan was out taking the SAT and Bjorn was running errands, I sat myself down in front of my computer and did another layout! After the last one I did (which I haven't shown you yet, probably next time), this one came very easily, and I really, really like it.


This is my dad's maternal grandfather, T. C. ("Pa") Richardson. I don't know the horse's name, but I just love the photo. It was given to my dad and his sister by their Aunt Ida (T. C.'s daughter), and the inscription on the back says, "To Danny and Sister -- Christmas December 25, 1939 -- Isn't he a 'precious ole cowboy?' -- Aunt Ida" I think it's odd that Ida referred to my Aunt Barb as "Sister" but maybe that's what they called her back then (I'll have to ask!)

Anyway -- I used a template by PageMaps (Nov. 09), but I liked the background paper so much I didn't want to cover it up with much, so where there were spots for two other, different papers, I decided to just copy the background paper over the template's clipping masks for those two papers, then use a medium drop shadow to make those layers pop a bit. Now, the part of West Texas where Pa Richardson lived at this point does NOT have hills like the ones portrayed on the paper, but I still thought it was nice and "western" without being hokey.

Here are the ingredients:
Rename Layer and Supply Tracker scripts: Christy VanderWall -- Scrap Girls
Label: Dana Zarling -- Vintage Artistry -- Scrapbook Bytes (which I completely altered by using Durin Eberhart's Vintage Paper style -- ScrapGirls)
Fonts: FranciscoLucas Briosa (titles); Angleterre (label)
Template: PageMaps Nov 2009
Paper: Raspberry Road Design -- Frontier Days add-on -- Raspberry Road
Braided straw ribbon: Designs by Crystal -- Wild West -- Scrap it Sassy
Net/mesh; Texas medallion: Jean Daugherty -- Lone Star -- Heritage Scrap
Wheat stalks: Kristin Skjaeringrud (Kristin's Scrap Designs) -- Crisp Air -- Pickleberry Pop
Frame: for some reason I can't for the life of me find this frame in my frames folder! But it doesn't look much like the original because I altered it with the Vintage Paper style, anyway ...

Too much fun! And now I really, really need a snack and a nap! lol

Enjoy your day!