Scrapixie

Smashing good time!

2012-02-01T18:27:00.000-08:00

I was already starting this to a small degree, but this amazing group on facebook that I was dragged into by my friend Lizzie (thanks girl - you'll notice I put up not a bit of fuss!) has inspired me to keep on going, and that means shopping for product!! With a little Office Max, some Walmart, and Michael's love, this is my loot for the week!

I've done a few pages and posted them... lemme look around here and see....here is a page I did for my little boy's 5th birthday at the end of last week. Kept some goodies from his gifts, and even a candle! Love smashing!

Can you see why I'm getting more and more in love with this? Lookie the spread at the Michael's closest to me:

Look at all the colors!! I am using a 'brag book' right now, but had to get me an original Smash book - my first choice was red. The inner pages are awesome! Not sure what my next color will be...

Oh yeah, here's my Kohl's page. Kinda liking this one, especially since I was trolling through the mail looking for inspiration, and I found some:

Okay, the last page I'll show is one I made. Yup, all by meself! Used newspaper, super crinkled, lots of gesso, paint, ink, mod podge, stazon and good ole' Sharpie. This is cool... just makes you want to touch it!!

So... that's it! Off to bed, will smash another day! Cheerio dahling!

Plant kindness and love - taken from the Authentique Paper blog

2012-01-29T08:35:00.000-08:00

I hope I'm allowed to 'borrow' in this manner - I NEED to be able to do this in future!! I've done a sample petal, and I'm hooked! I have lots of patterned paper that these will be awesome for! Borrowed exactly as written from their awesome blog:

I've got a step-by-step tutorial prepared for you! Beware though, these flowers are time consuming and addicting to make! I didn't count, but I think it took me 30-40 flowers to fill this bouquet (and a lot of paper)... each one took about 20 minutes to make.

First you will need to cut your paper. For the small flowers I used 3x3 pieces (the 6x6 pads come in handy for this!) for the larger pieces I used the 12x12 sheets and cut them into 4x4 pieces. You will need 5 pieces of wither 3x3 or 4x4 to make one flower.

Fold paper in half to make a triangle. Make sure that the pattern side that you want your flower to be is the side showing.

Fold the two end pieces up to make a diamond shape, make sure all of you creases are firm. You may need to use a bone folder for this part.

Take the two top pieces and fold them back to meet the sides (I can't really think of how to explain to do this... so I will show another picture below)

This is what you should have now.

Now take and flatten out the top two pieces so they look like this.

Fold the little flaps back and crease, then tuck them inside.

Fold the two outside pieces on the crease that already exists and bring the two sides to meet, you will have a sort of cone shape that looks like this.

Glue the inside pieces together using hot glue (I used a high heat setting) then clamp them for a few minutes so the glue can get a firm bond.

Repeat these steps until you have all five petals.

Now glue the petals together, again using hot glue, make sure you hold each piece for a few minutes until the glue has set or the flower will fall apart and you will have glue gunk everywhere.

Before you add the last piece, if you are making a bouquet, I would suggest bamboo skewers. I added one in right before adding the last petal to the flower. Then I topped it off with a matching button.

Authentique: Gathering Collection- 6x6 bundle, 12x12 sheets, Headlines
Really Reasonable Ribbon: Sheer Iridescent Peach, Copper Glitz Ribbon
Assorted Buttons
Bamboo Skewers
Styrofoam Ball

My Day Off

2012-01-25T17:38:00.000-08:00

This was a very fun Wednesday. While Katy, Houston and surrounding areas were belted with rain and wind (and tornadoes) Jesse & I scrapped the day away. Managed to get an entire cute little 7x7 album done, ready for putting photos and journaling. Very pleased with today, laughing, coffee, scrapping, relaxing. Awesome!

Martha Stewart-ish!

2012-01-24T18:56:00.000-08:00

I've had a very 'homemade, crafty, cooky' kind of day. Laundry, a given for a Monday!

Made a birthday scrapbook layout for Benjamin's upcoming big day (that goes with the one I made yesterday), (photos to come) made a pear coffee cake which turned out way better than I expected LOL!!

Tasty too. Then embarked on my first ever homemade pea soup. It was super thick and had a lot of flavor.

Really impressed myself! Wonder what tomorrow will bring, or if my domestic kick will take a day off :)

Continuing on :)

2012-01-21T15:09:00.000-08:00

The Simple Stories blog hop was so much fun. Thank you to everyone who commented on my post, and said such kind things about my mini book. Very sweet of you all, and I feel very inspired to continue and get it finished.

My next project is going to be quite different. I've had this book that I just HAD to have from Archivers, called Journaling Solutions. It is marked at $19.99, but it is worth it! (And I used a coupon haha!)

I journal a lot, as I feel that is just as important as the photo to tell the story, and sometimes more so. I am using this amazing book to create an album of interviews, stories and favorite comments or funny sayings that come out of the kids' mouths. It will be ongoing, and hopefully not finished for years to come, but I have kick started it with an interview I found with the kids on Sept 26/11. They laughed when I read it back to them, and seeing as my husband travels so much, they are things he would otherwise miss out on.

This album will be 95% written, with the odd photo, likely 2x2 of the kids here and there. I am very excited about it, and will post updates from time to time as I get pages completed. I plan on using one journaling pen (black) and lots of colorful paper to accent, with a plain white background page to make it easy to doodle around. Here's hoping it turns out the way I see it in my head :)

Facebook Fan Blog Hop 2012 with Simple Stories

2012-01-19T19:36:00.000-08:00

Congratulations! You are officially part of the first ever, most fabulous Facebook Fan Blog Hop 2012 with Simple Stories! Here's what you need to do:

Hop along the blogging trail, to each of the blogs/sites listed below. Please leave a comment HERE and on each of the blogs you visit, including the Simple Stories blog - it will be worth your while; you will see some awesome projects with Simple Stories goodies! Hint hint: prizes to score, winners chosen from your comments! Woohoo!

For my project, I have been working on something that will likely be my favorite album that I've ever made. My little son, only 4, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes on Sept 12, 2011. The worst news a mother ever wants to hear is that not only is your baby sick, but that it is something that will not go away. I made a not-quite mini album to record the journey from discovery to coping, and it has hidden pockets and journaling spots everywhere! As soon as I decidedI would do this, the Simple Stories Destinations paper collection came to mind as the perfect supply to use.

For a truly different type of Destination, take a look:

Book cover is simply chipboard with beautiful pattern paper and embellishments.

first pages:

Each page has a full size slit in the outer edge, which holds a 4x6 photo mat, or journal tag, or accordian fold letter. Tons of real estate in this book!

Second set of pages, flaps closed:

Each of the flaps also has the side slit, so they have hidden tags as well.

With flaps open:

Still a few pages to go before I'm done. It's a very emotional project for me, so I'm taking my time. Look how beautiful this paper is!

I am so proud of not only my son, and this project, but for me actually scrapping this. My son is so young, he won't remember the how or when or why. This is a gift for him. He's an amazing little boy, and I hope he will see through this just how special he is to us, and just how far we will go to keep him safe and well and loved.

So hop on, everyone! Enjoy, and have fun! Here's your path:

BLOG HOP SCHEDULE:

1) Simple Stories
www.simple-stories.com

2) Martha Saenz
http://www.welcometomarthaworld.blogspot.com

3) Simple Stories design team member, Kim Holmes http://www.theholmescrew.blogspot.com

4) Amanda Albright
http://www.asquared.typepad.com

5) Cindy Pittman - YOU ARE HERE!
http://www.scrapixie.blogspot.com

6) Simple Stories design team member, Emily Pitts
http://www.emilypitts.blogspot.com

7) Sara O’Shea knittingprose.com
http://www.knittingprose.com

8) Simple Stories design team member, Allison Landy
http://www.scrapsrfun.typepad.com

9) Kate Blue
http://www.Kateblue.blogspot.com

10) Simple Stories design team member, Wendy Morris
http://scrapnspire.blogspot.com

11) Naomi Armenta
http://www.snipitytweetwhispers.blogspot.com

12) Michelle Brekke
http://www.wildnkrazie.blogspot.com

13) Simple Stories design team member, Liz Qualman
http://www.lizqualman.blogspot.com

Triple Sweet

2012-01-15T09:52:00.000-08:00

I admit, at Christmas time this year I cheated. I mailed out store bought cards. Horrible huh? And to be truly honest? I was at Walmart yesterday and found 4 boxes of cards that I got dirt cheap that I'm going to use for the upcoming year. :)

I cannot bring myself to spend $5-7 on a birthday card. For anyone. Do you realize the amount of scrappy supplies that would cover in a month / year? No, no, no.

I am in need of a birthday card for a little cutie today. And I know I'll need a birthday card for my own little munchkin in less than 2 weeks, and then Valentine's day... Oh the crafting never stops :) So. The two that say 'Sweet' are for little one's birthdays, and the third I'll give hubby when he comes home from his latest work-on-the-road stint. Love the blue / brown combination!

Celebrating a milestone

2012-01-11T07:15:00.000-08:00

My best friend from 'back home', Sherry, will soon be celebrating her youngest little person's first birthday. I can't believe I've been away so long that she's had another entire person! We were lucky to meet him in Aug of last year, on a super-quick trip back. This is cutie patootie Ronan, and Sherry:

I've made a scrappy book, out of a children's tabbed board book that I picked up for a dollar from Garden Ridge. Covering the pages with yummy paper, covering the spine with ribbon, and adding some photo mats and a few embellishments was all it took to make this kid's book into a baby's first year memory book. I'm sending it to Sherry for Ronan, hopefully for a photo per month of his first year, easily visually documenting his growth through his first year. I so wish I could be there to experience the birthday cake first hand, he will have a blast!

I hope she likes it!

Pretty Storage

2012-01-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

Long before I was a scrapbooker, I was a great believer in my Daytimer. Not a computerized one, no PDA, no online calendar, but a real, paper in hand scheduler. When I discovered scrapbooking almost 11 years ago (wow!) it became even more important to me. As all of us crafty folks know, journaling on your pages and books is so important. You also know that we are all behind LOL! My way for making that 'ok' is by keeping my daytimer updated daily with anything I may want to journal about.

Now comes my project for today. It turned into a little more than I'd planned. I wanted to make a storage solution for my daytimer pages from last year. I refer back to them often, so I wanted it cute so it could be out and not tucked away, and something simple. I use a 2 page per day system (plus adding in all the school reminders, notices, tickets, etc. that go along with daily life) so my daytimer is awfully chunky, too much for the silver rings. This is what I came up with:

Simple closure:

Ribbon binding:

Easy to read label:

The only thing I may add will be a small date tab hanging from the spine on the ribbon.

Now... to get onto the previous months / years! It will be a work in process :)

The new and big scrappy committment!

2012-01-08T12:45:00.000-08:00

I've been busy in my scrappy room this week, and I'm happy to say that at this moment, not only is my project life 365 up to date (and all being done in Simple Stories goodies):

>>>check out www.simplestories@typepad.com if you like this idea, they have lots of inspiration!<<<

I am also working on something else that even if I say... it's awesome :) Not time to reveal just yet, but it is a very personal journey that is extremely emotional to me, and I've found just the way to document it. Stay tuned for the reveal (Jan 20th, to be exact.)

We went to our very first gymnastics meet with our friends yesterday, and witnessed amazing skills! Miss D (who hasn't competed in 4 years due to injury, and had major surgery just 5 months ago) competed in four events: Floor, Beam, Uneven Bars and balance beam, and she received medals in all: 3 first place, 1 second place, as well as All around first for her division. Amazing. Such pride from her friends, family, and herself, and so deserved. Very honored to have been able to witness. (And her mom used the little record keeping book I made her, cool!)

Happy Scrappy New Year!

2012-01-03T10:26:00.000-08:00

I've made a New Year's Resolution (well a few of them, but this one I hope most of all sticks!) I am going to post my projects and layouts more consistently, to keep track of everything I've done, and what I've given to whom.

First up for the year is a set of Mommy / Daughter mini pads. Decorated simply, to make it easy to tuck into purse or gym bag, these little things are quick and easy, and very cute! Embellished with ribbon, stickers, and pretty paper, they are a cute way to keep track of meets and scores and practices, and a cinch to add in a 4x6 photo here and there.

Mommy's book:

Yes, I hand-wrote the words on 50 index cards, 25 for each. Think I will stamp them next go-round, it may be quicker...

Daughter's book:

Almost the end!

2011-12-30T07:32:00.000-08:00

2011 is almost over! It's gone so quickly! Wow!

Today, there's an extra little voice running around upstairs; Hannah bear is staying with us for a few days, and the boys are tickled! Marley & Me is THE movie of the moment, so of course, the kids are upstairs playing, and the movie is running downstairs, keeping me company.

Have been getting crafty lately, such good soul therapy! Made most of my gifts to give out this year, and I think I did pretty good! Let me know what you think. I'm especially proud of the monkey LOL!!

Wishing everyone a fun New Year's Eve Eve! Eat cake now, for soon, we..... don't....

Christmas portfolio, for our family's Christmas photos:

Sweet easy little mini book for my friend Janie:

Present for my friend Jessica, for her scrappy room:

(Private joke between us :) She loves pink & green, her room is decorated with it.

Another set of matching photo ornaments for my friend Evelyn (I give her a set each year)

Sweet little mini album for my friends Enny & Philip of our shared 2010 Christmas

Family photo tray, of our shared Christmas 2010

Photo tray for our friends:

Made tie blankets for my sons, our neighbor's son, my husband, and finally for me:

Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells! Kindle all the way!

2011-12-27T23:43:00.000-08:00

My very first post from my favorite Christmas present - my new Kindle Fire! It's smaller than the laptop but bigger than my phone, and I can do everything I want on it, except take photos. Kicking gift, my hubby spoiled me big this year! Maybe I'll even read a book on it soon :)

Partaking in the lovely Kraftin Kimmie bloghop

2011-12-11T07:57:00.000-08:00

You have got to check out this blog hop - the new stamp releases for December are adorable! Just look at this one that I had to post! I mean really, does that scream me in any other way? LOL!!!

http://kraftinkimmiestamps.blogspot.com/2011/12/december-release-day-and-krafty-hop.html

Scrap Queen layout

2011-10-18T10:13:00.001-07:00

I finally finished my layout! I submitted this to DCWV for their October Stackaholic Template challenge; prize is a couple stacks of their awesome paper collections. For this layout, I used the Black Currant stack, cracked into it for the first time. There are some great papers in there! I've never used the banner idea for a layout before, although it has been on my to-do list. I like how this turned out, and scrap queen is definitely a good description for Jess :) Even my journaling happened to come out straight, woohoo!

Altered items - A Few of My Favorite Things

2011-10-17T17:23:00.001-07:00

I've had this idea in mind for quite some time, and finally bit the bullet (so to speak) and jumped right in. I have been collecting some of the kids' small toys, things that they used to love to play with (and some that they still love) and I've been hoarding them - waiting for the right moment to create a memorabilia display for each of them. I was at Hobby Lobby one day with a friend, and we found these beautiful (and cheap!) wooden boxes with the clear fronts, and I knew they'd be perfect. With some paint, patterned paper, rub ons, washi tape and some hot glue, the boys each have a cool display to hang on their walls. They really do like them, although our youngest wants to open it and play with the toys, asking me, "Mommy, why did you glue my toys in there?" and my favorite, "Mommy, did you cut the head off my dog?" Yes, son, I did, for the sake of crafting, I did. One day you'll understand LOL!

Benjamin's:

Nicholas': (not quite finished)

For the Love of Kittens

2011-10-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

Hubby has been away working in the northern States, so it's been me and the boys. We've been able to spend some time with our friends who have had two batches of kittens this summer/fall. While they are adorable little fluff balls, we know that the pets we have now would not appreciate us adding to our brood, we know we have enough. Doesn't stop us from enjoying the kitties though, until they all find new homes. They are just so cute!!

This photo I took and posted on our neighborhood facebook page, saying kitties were ready to go to their new home. Had some great comments on the photo, but no takers on the kitties. (Since that photo, all but 3 kitties from both litters have found homes. So sad to see them go.)

Yet another cute, easy fun idea!

2011-09-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

I am finding all of these amazing ideas, and one of my new favorite blogs belongs to the PaperVine. This is a post of hers, and it is fabulous, quick and easy, not to mention, it will help you use up a bit of your paper stash!

1 Cut 8 pieces of paper 4” x 8”
2 Fold all the pieces into half , with the side of paper you want showing on the inside
3 Glue pieces together back to back to create pages
4 Ensure that the folds are always aligned
5 When all piece are glued – round corners if desired
6 Cut piece of paper 8.5” x 4” for cover – round corners on one side
7 Score cover at 4” and 4¼ ” to create "spine" for book
8 Glue cover to front of book – do not glue spine
9 Glue cover to back of book
10 Trim excess paper and round corners for back of book

I hope this has given you some inspiration to create your own books. It's a project that comes together in an hour or so and the book pages feel really "solid" in terms of weight - and much easier to stuff in a purse (thinking Grandma brag book!!) than a chipboard or wooden album.

Check out my inspiration for these latest posts - this blog is amazing, and just full of the best ideas!

www.papervinenz.blogspot.com

Sunday, sweet Sunday!

2011-09-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

It's been a relaxing, rejuvenating, reviving kind of morning. I love Sunday's like this! With a little help from SpongeBob Squarepants (gotta love weekend morning cartoons!)

My boys have been behaving and playing together well, which is music to my ears. Also, it gave me to opportunity to mix a delicious cup of coffee, crawl back under the covers, Valentino to my right, Cinnamon to my left, and just enjoy the chance to finish my book. Don't you love it when you get a novel that you have a hard time putting down, but at the same time, force yourself to so it isn't over too quickly?

I gave in this morning, and finished it up, and as per usual, it didn't disappoint. I love Barbara Delinsky books!

So now, I have other lazy options: do I play with the tutorial I just bought from Paper Phenomenon, that I just had to have? Or do I search around online for other scrappy inspiration? Either would be wonderful, as I fully intend to take advantage of the boys getting along, it is truly a weekend blessing!

Have to post this pic though, before I go - this is a lovely chest of drawers, an item from KaiserCraft (I'm really starting to love their stuff!)

(Pic borrowed from the PaperVine blog, thank you!)
Little note: paint with white acrylic first, then attach patterned paper before assembling drawers. LOVE this! Such a pretty little project! Added to my wish list :)

2011-09-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

from Cutters Creek Design Team, a card too cute to keep to myself!

Echo Park Joy Fold Card Tutorial

Hi, it’s Mindy and it’s my turn to host Tutorial Tuesday. As you know we are featuring Echo Park products this month. I have made a Joy Fold Card using the Echo Park Country Drive Collection.

It’s hard to tell from the picture, but this card has a very unique fold . Here is a picture of what the card looks like when it is open.

The little car on the front opens up to give you lots of room to write a message to your recipient.

To make this card, you will need to gather your supplies. You will need a piece of cardstock 4 1/4 x 8 1/2, a piece of cardstock 3 x 8, 3 pieces of patterned paper 2 3/4 x 4, a piece of patterned paper 4 x 5 1/4, a scor pal and adhesive.

You need to score your larger piece of cardstock at 5 1/2 inches and your smaller piece at 4 inches. Then you can cover the cardstock in the paper of your choice. I matted my paper to give it an extra layer. You only decorate the outside of your smaller card and leave the inside blank for a message.

These are my cardstock pieces after I had them decorated. Then you put adhesive on the back side of the smaller card and stick it in the middle of the larger card.

If you are confused by any of my steps, there is an excellent tutorial on split coast stampers with a video. The main thing I changed from this tutorial is the way I kept the card closed. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to use the new craft velcro I got.

I love this stuff! I cut one of the ovals in half since I only needed a small amount. I stuck it to the inside of the flap while it was still attached. I pulled off the backing and pushed the card together. This is much easier than trying to make sure you have the pieces lined up perfectly.

That’s it a really simple way to make an interesting card. Here is a picture of the finished card again.

I have a couple of friends who have been sick and when I saw this yellow VW bug the sticker on the sticker elements that came with this pack, I knew it would be perfect. I've had the sentiment "caught a bug..." for a while and I knew they would go great together. I added a strip of ribbon and this was it. I really just wanted this card to be clean and simple.

For a link to where I found this card, please go to http://cutterscreekdesignteam.blogspot.com/

Blink!

2011-09-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

I was meaning to do a Blink layout, inspired by Cathy Zielske's take on it. I have more reason to do this now than ever. This week we sadly discovered that our youngest, our baby who is 4, has Juvenile Type 1 Diabetes.

In just a blink, our lives have changed forever.

We are faced with a lifetime of glucose testing, insulin injections, and diet tracking. He is such an amazing little boy, and not even a week after this all happened, he is adjusting just fine, with a lot of help from some very amazing friends who were there for us. We are a little slower on it, but you do what you need to do. It is our job as good parents to take the best care of him that we can, and to teach him to do so as well. We will make it through, even though we of course had our moments of pure shock, weakness and rage. We are home, tired, but okay.

I still wish we could understand the 'why him' part, but there is no cause known yet. When the cause is known, the cure will be ready. And we will wait until then, taking the best care of our baby as we can.

One little blink.

May Arts Blog borrow - so stinking cute & easy!

2011-09-18T09:03:00.000-07:00

You will need:

empty paper rolls (toilet paper or napkin)

adhesive of choice

May Arts ribbon of choice (I used SM03, 385-58-14, 385-58-44, 391-58-31)

paper and embellishments

scissors

For the rocket's pointy tip, cut a circle and then make a slit to the middle. I used my tape roll as a template. You can always trim it down if it looks to big and you won't be able to tell if it's not an “even” circle anyway!

Because of the slit in your circle you can make the paper cone shape, or a little hat as I like to call it. Staple it together, or use some more double sided tape like I did.

Using the SM03 string, I doubled it over and pulled it through the slit so it comes out the top with the loop and the bottom with the knot. Attach your “hat”. I used a combination of wet glue and glue dots to make it secure.

I cut varying lengths of 385-58-14, 385-58-44 and 391-58-31 and used double sided tape to stick them to the inside bottom of the roll. I embellished the front of the rocket with more “space” stickers and chipboard and hung it in his room.

Woven background

2011-09-11T07:03:00.000-07:00

Such a beautiful finished product, and it made me remember how much I enjoyed paper weaving when I was in elementary school. Give this a try, it's so simple!

Borrowed from Rhonda Henderson of Let's scrap:

We are going to do a paper weaving layout. and you will need 5 sheets of Cardstock,. I have used Bazzill and I have chosen 1 White, 2 Light Blue, 1 Dark Blue and 1 Black. You will then need your photos and your embellishments to complete your layout.

1. Take 2 sheets of Bazzill (I used 1 white and 1 light blue) and cut into 1/2inch strips keeping them as straight as possible!!

2. Weave these 2 sheets together, being careful not to pull tension too tight or it will buckle. I found it easier to let the strips hang over the side of the table and lift up each alternative vertical strip and then weave horizontally.

3. Take another sheet (I used dark blue) and cut it down to 11½ x 11½ inches. Make a border of ¾inch (or 2cms) on each side and cut out middle (This can then be used to matt and layer your photos)
4. Take another sheet, ( I used pale blue) and cut it down to 11½ x 11½ inches and this time make a border of 1inch (or 2.5 cms) all round. Cut out your middle section once more. You should now have 2 frames which look like this

5. Layer these 2 frames together and glue. Place this frame over the weaving area and attach. You can then trim off the excess weaving.

6. Take your last sheet of cardstock (Black in my case) and mount your weaving on top of this sheet. If you wish, you can cut a gutter out of this sheet just as before, to save more card!!

7. Now all you have to do is attach your photos and your embellishments.

2011-09-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

I have to share these beautiful flowers! I know a lot of people have been making them for a while, but I'm a little behind :P

From the Paper Candie blog:
Paper flowers have taken over my house! Literally. I just finished making 239 paper flowers to be put into goodie bags for the BC Crop for Kids, and I'm loving how they turned out!

I have no idea if they have a name, but I am calling them "punch and scrunch" flowers . . .cuz you punch em' and scrunch em'. . . pretty original of me, hey?!
Seriously though, I used a 2" Scallop Punch and did the following:
1) punch out 6 scallops for each flower - can be same pattern or mix of patterns, and a pattern on both sides of the papaer looks even better!
2) lightly mist the scallops with some water - LIGHTLY, you do not want them to get too wet and end up ripping, but you want the paper to be more pliable. Also, when your finished product dries it will harden and hold it's shape.
3) crumple each individual scallop into a ball.
4) flatten the crumpled scallop out.
5) stack the scallops - do not worry about them being perfectly straight, and if you are working with more than one pattern paper, or double sided, alter the pattern as you stack.
6) Pierce a brad thru the center - good way to use up some old ones you may have hangin' around, as you will not see the brad thru the finished flower.
7) Now, starting with the top scallop, crumple/pinch into the center. Do each layer one by one, and when your done you should have what resembles a rose bud.
8) Finally, slowly "unfold" this rose bud untill you are happy with your flower :-)

Moving right along!

2011-09-03T09:27:00.000-07:00

School has started, we are into September, and life rolls right along! Dealing with kids arguing, homework, return to routine, all in a day's norm. Hopefully finding some more time to scrapbook too!

Found the above sketch on pininterest - think this is one that I'll have to work on. Maybe do one version girly and pretty, and one version grungy and boy-ish. Maybe even using my new Welcome Home paper from Bo Bunny that I splurged on.

Happy Labor Day long weekend! We are on our way out to a friend's today for a barbeque and some pool time, then tomorrow I get to take 50th anniversary photos of a family. I'm looking forward to both!

2011-08-04T19:32:00.000-07:00

February 15, 2011 at 1:43 pm, by Brittany Hopkins
Brighten up your pages and projects with these handmade flowers found on the opener of our “DIY Flowers” story in the April issue.

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DIY Flowers (borrowed from Scrapbooks etc. magazine online)

Brighten up your pages and projects with these handmade flowers found on the opener of our “DIY Flowers” story in the April issue.

SCALLOPED PUFFS

Punch five scalloped circles from cardstock.
Soak the circles in water for a few minutes.
Remove the scalloped circles from the bowl and blot the excess water with a paper towel.
Stack the five scalloped circles and stick a brad through the center.
Beginning with the top layer, scrunch all the sides up together. Repeat with each layer until the flower is formed. Let it dry completely.

FRINGED FLOWERS

Cut a long strip of cardstock, and fringe-cut 2/3 of one side.
Gently fold down the first few fringed pieces on one end and begin rolling strip with these folds inside.
Once rolled, gently fold back all remaining fringes outward and add an adhesive dot at the end of the strip to secure.

SPIRAL FLOWERS

With a pencil, lightly draw a 4″ circle and a spiral from the outside to the center of the circle. (Increase or decrease the size of the circle to change the size of the resulting flower.)
Cut out the spiral using decorative-edge scissors. Be sure the decorative edge faces the outside of the circle.
Bend the tips of the decorative-edge down and roll into a spiral, beginning at the outer end of the spiral. Be sure to bend the tips toward the side with pencil marks (so they will be hidden on the back of the flower). Let the flower relax and adhere at the center/end of the spiral to secure.

Today is here!

2011-08-02T10:31:00.001-07:00

Thank you to my hubby for giving me the much needed encouragement and symbolic kick in the butt; back on the treadmill and finished my grazing in the high calorie lane. I feel better, and am eating better, and thankful for his support.

Today is the day! Rio is here! Once the kiddos & I finish lunch, we are off to Wal-mart to get our bonus disc set. Woohoo! I think I see a 100-calorie popcorn in my future!

2011-08-01T18:11:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, July 26, 2011 - from nifty thrifty things blog

S'more Rice Krispies

I am about to blow your ever-loving mind.
S'mores + Rice Krispie Treats.
SEE? Don't say I didn't warn you. When I saw them on Pinterest I freaked out! Then I followed the link and they were FOR SALE. $3.75 for one. So I googled s'more rice krispies and it turns out quite a few of you have made these. Here is my version for you to enjoy!
You will need to make 2 batches of treats, so I will include my super secret Rice Krispie Treat Recipe. This is only known by a few chosen people. In a largish bowl zap 40 large marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of butter for 2 minutes on high in the microwave. Stir and add 6 cups of Rice Krispies. Stir to combine, then press into a 13 x 9 pan. Repeat as necessary.

Now let's get back to the post... Here is what you need to make the yummy goodness:
4 T Butter, 80 big marshmallows and 12 cups rice cereal for the treats. 7 Graham crackers, 1 jar of marshmallow cream, couple shakes of sea salt and 6 chocolate bars for the filling.
Two batches made.
Break apart the chocolate and melt in microwave for about 2 minutes.
Pour melted chocolate on one batch. You don't have to go all the way to the edge. Leave about half an inch.
Sprinkle with just a bit of sea salt. (I went through a few different recipes and a couple added the salt. I think it is a good idea, it just sounded nice to me.) Press the graham crackers into the chocolate. I broke them apart, but you don't have to.
At this point you will want the chocolate to firm up to really grab on to those crackers. (Soon you will need to flip them on to the other treats and you don't want the graham crackers falling off. Listen closely to the voice of experience.)

Side note: I make my treats in a pan lined with wax paper. So much easier to get out. I put this one on a cookie sheet.
When the chocolate is hardened, (about 5 minutes depending on how hot your house is) spread the marshmallow cream.
The last step is kinda sketchy. You will need to flip the graham cracker side to the marshmallow side, making a nice little s'more sandwich. You may mess up, it's OK just reposition and do your best. You're just making s'mores and they will forgive you. {Your thighs, not so much.}
You will need to let them sit for a while before you slice 'em up.

There you have it! S'more Rice Krispie Treats. I know you are gonna love 'em! At this point I need to tell you that 90% of the time I am extremely careful about what I eat. And 10% of the time I bake. So 10% of the time I give myself free reign to indulge. Life is hard enough, why make it harder by resisting yummy goodness?
These will be a hit at your next party, I just feel it!

XOXO Jules

Couldn't resist sharing - how stinking cute! Taken from the Maya Road Design Team blog July 25, 2011

2011-07-25T14:24:00.001-07:00

2012 Bottle Cap Calendar

Good Friday Roadies! Are you getting excited seeing all the cool new stuff coming out this week for CHA? I have a fun project featuring the new 2012 kraft calendars. It's never too early right?

I used the 4inch bottle caps for this project. I marked and punched holes in the bottle cap, then using ribbon I tired them together. I matched each bottle cap to that month using bright paper and mini chipboard pieces to coordinate.

Supplies Used:

Super Mega Bottle Caps

2012 kraft calendars

Chicago Chipboard Numbers

Snowflake Chipboard Set (Jan & Dec)

Love words Mini Set (Feb)

Green Thumb (Mar & May)

Hows the Weather (April & Jun)

What's Cookin (Jul)

Birds with Cages (Aug)

Leaves Chipboard (Sep & Oct)

Mini Trees (Nov)

Mists: Pomegranate Pink, Antique Silver, Lemon Metallic, Lime Metallic, Cream Metallic, Sunflower Yellow, Antique Patina, Antique Bronze Metallic, Salmon Metallic, Latte Metallic, Snow White, Black

Other Supplies: Glossy Accents, Pattern Paper, Buttons, Twine & Ribbon. U-Cut foam & Extreme Tac adhesives.

2011-07-23T09:09:00.000-07:00

Super Easy.

All you need is:
a foam wreath (found mine at the $1 store)
scrap material (i used pinking shears to avoid fray)
a hot glue gun (if you don't have one, get one)
boxes of crayons (also from the $1 store)

Adhere the scrap material around the wreath with hot glue.
Glue crayons to back side (flat side) of wreath.
Make simple scrap material flowers
(or any other embelishment you choose).

All-in-all this project took me about 20 minutes
and cost less than $5.

{ Borrowed from Evie Ballard }

New Paul Brandt video!

2011-07-11T13:40:00.000-07:00

I just stumbled across this on facebook, and have listened to it twice already. Paul is very involved with the Build it Forward project and Samaritan's Purse, where he travels and builds homes for people less fortunate. The video is awesome, how could it not be?

Kid free day #1

2011-07-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

The boys are off to their first day of summer camp - it runs for the week. So far, I've done about half the laundry, put away all the laundry collected from weeks past, have vaccuumed almost all of downstairs, and am about to make nice with the broom. Oh, and I've cleaned the kids' rooms (they really needed it!) It's noon, and I've been busy! But I really miss them. I know Nicholas will be so happy hanging out there, he was really excited to go, and I am used to him going off to school. But Benjamin - I'm really missing my baby boy. This is the first time he's spending a whole day away from me when he's not with Daddy, and I'm a little worried. I know if there was a problem, they would call, but I still worry. Dryer just beeped... guess I'm off to do something else.

On a scrappy note, just took a quick look at the Christmas in July release from Bo Bunny - how beautiful are these trinkets? The line is called Father Christmas, and it's beautiful. Check it out!

http://www.bobunny.blogspot.com/

Picked the kids up at supper time and Nicholas wanted to stay longer - great endorsement for the center hey? Benjamin was ready to come home, and said he didn't like it, but then changed his story and said he did have fun. Tomorrow though, he wants his pillow pet and snuggle blankie - that will make a world of difference :)

SRM stickers

2011-07-10T13:05:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this blog today, and found some really budget friendly ideas for gifts and projects. This picture, especially made me happy, as it is so bright, colorful and happy. The plastic tubes are sold on the SRM website, and the box is a recycled fruit roll ups box. Pretty cute and creative!

Oops, how'd that happen?

2011-06-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

This beautiful photo is my Nicholas. He loves playing in the pool, and being outdoors just emphasizes his amazing eyes. I love you bug :)

My last post was in April. Ummm... Almost 3 months ago. Well. Lots has happpened. School is out for the summer, and has been for almost a month. Nicholas passed to second grade, and he's very proud. The summer has been extremely hot = bored children. It's just too hot to do things outside most of the day, so the kids are in, and getting on each other's nerves (and mine) and are just uninspired. We are enjoying the little bit of sleeping in we are getting to have though. Ed is home this week and next, but then travels for a bit. I did register the kids into a week-long summer camp program at Kids R Kids, during the same week that Ed will be away. Wonder what I should do with myself? 5 whole days... wow. Nap maybe? Read an entire book? Do up my scrapbook room? Clean the house? Little road trip somewhere? Who knows, I don't yet. But I'll think of something. Anyway, that's it for the update, lunch is ready, and kiddos are hungry. I'll try to get into this a little more often than just every 3 months LOL! Cheerio dahling!

Oops!

2011-04-06T06:37:00.000-07:00

Fell off the map again for a little while. Seriously focused on having all the boys together. So happy to have had Thomas here for a visit. Was no where near long enough, but I am so grateful for the time we had. Lots of running around, yummy meals out, pool, bowling, baseball game, cub scouts meeting, movies. I miss you son, already, and every day. Have a ton of pics to get to - should make for two great scrapbooks - one for Thomas, one for us. Off to dash - meeting at school. Maybe I'll actually get something posted on here LOL! Cheerio!

How many legs does time have?

2011-03-06T17:33:00.000-08:00

I ask this, because it goes so fast! I haven't posted since January - what?! Okay, what's new...? Benjamin turned 4, and he's just the best little man! Daddy came back into town especially for his birthday, which we celebrated at "Chuck's Place". (Chuck E. Cheese.) He had an absolute blast! Then, March 1st rolled around, and Ed just made it back, for Nicholas' birthday, #7. These boys, they're growing so fast!! We've been hanging around home, coffeeing with friends, and getting out to enjoy the amazingly wonderful springtime in Texas. We'll have wildflowers before we know it! Oh, and three wonderful things to look forward to - Thomas is coming to visit at the end of March yaaaaayyy!!! I have booked myself on a cruise with Leslie, Michelle & Nicole, to Roatan, Belize and Cozumel - we are all sooooo stoked! Oh, almost forgot to mention - - it is a scrappy cruise, woohoo!! And, what else... . Oh! We are spending Christmas AND New Year's in Disney World in Orlando, with Ed's parents and brothers. Oh, a vacationing we will go!

That's all the highlights, but I do have to run. Off to tuck in the boys to bed, then finish watching The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest with hubby!

Sharing the love

2011-01-21T07:30:00.000-08:00

My crafty pal Jenn is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card on her blog, in honor of her 2 year blogoversary! Congrats to you Jenn! I love your scrappy stuff, and you are the cricut inspiration for me to actually use mine a little more!

So anyway, here's the link to her blog giveaway - go check her out!
http://iscrapmemories.wordpress.com/

Dec (in January) CTMH group project

2011-01-15T08:19:00.000-08:00

back cover(above)

back cover, inside (above)
inside pages (below):

front cover, inside

and finally, the front (above) I really need to get stocked up on some CTMH blingy things!!!

I had to put together some pics of the project for a friend who couldn't make it to the actual meeting, so here they are. It's pretty basic at this point - I'm thinking that prettying it up with some mini prima roses would be perfect, and some fibres and charms around the spine. May have to do a quick short mini (haha!) trip to Archiver's today, to finish it up :)

January already!

2011-01-10T06:40:00.000-08:00

We are quite used to it being us, sad to say. Daddy has been away since just after Christmas, with only a 24 hour quick trip home for a doctor's appointment. Nicholas is back in school (thank goodness) and Benjamin is potty trained YAAY!!! I told him that if he was not potty trained by his birthday then we could not have a party, or presents or cake, because we would not celebrate still being in pampers by then. He was potty trained pretty much early on the 2nd day. Wonderful! Love it! And he's in underwear all night too. Today is a chores day, getting to things I've been too lazy to do. I was in my scrap room almost all day yesterday, made 10 cards and did some tidying. Felt soooo good to craft in my own room - it's been too disastrous to work in there. Still have a lot to do, but my work table is nice and organized. So, back to chores, then a little scrapping this afternoon, maybe some pics posted of what I've been up to. Cheerio!

Almost the end, almost the new

2010-12-30T17:40:00.000-08:00

This year has gone by so quickly! It's hard to believe we have just celebrated our 3rd year living in the United States. While I miss a lot of things about home, now it is mostly just the people. We have finally adjusted to the different climate, and are now feeling the cool weather. And I don't really miss the snow - the idea of it yes, but the thought of being cold and wet, not at all. The boys and I are home on our own, and debating how to spend our New Year's Eve. I think that we will just have to treat it as another day, go to bed as normal, and go on. We are missing our Papa Bear, but we can't have him home just now, so we will manage. Truly, it is just another day, and we can celebrate our new year / new hope / new challenges and beginnings when Daddy is home. We did have some unexpected fun - one of my bestest American girlfriends called us yesterday morning and invited me, the kids, and Valentino over for a scrappy sleepover. We had a great time, laughing, visiting with Michelle & Nicole, and scrapping. Only one bad thing happened - when Michelle was leaving for the night, Valentino got out, ran away, around the corner and onto busy Barker Cypress. I ran after him as I realized he wasn't just walking away. He went and sat right in the center of the road lane. One car was coming, and switched lanes, and Valentino seemed scared still - he didn't move, just looked at the oncoming lights. I ran and caught up to him, but was on the other side of a ditch from him. Michelle performed a gazelle like leap and got to the road, checked for cars and dashed to grab Valentino. If it wasn't for her and her do-it actions, I probably would have seen my dog killed in front of me. I owe her everything, and I am so grateful to her. Above and so beyond. We are home today, after much snuggling, more scrapping and chatting. I am grateful that we are all together, safe, warm, and able to love each other. I couldn't imagine what I would have done if I had to tell the boys something had happened to Valentino. But it all ended well, thanks to my wonderful friends. And to make the day end on such a sweet note today, Jessica gave me her BoBunny red purse that she won from Tracy at our last Pea retreat. Oh, it is lovely, and I loved it from the moment I saw it. It still had all the stuffing in it - she never used it at all. She is such an amazing person, and I love her, my crazy American :) One thing I can say this year has done for me, it has given me the time and opportunity to love my kids even more than I ever thought I could, again, to realize even more how much my husband is my best friend, and how much I value him and love him, how much I miss him when he is gone, and how not to ever take him for granted; to appreciate and and to truly enjoy and deepen friendships with some of the most amazing women that I am so grateful to have. I wish I could have seen my son for Christmas this year, but I do feel so happy that he was able to spend some time with Ed (2x) this year. I cannot wait for him to come in the spring. With a few difficult times, and some near misses (like our Valentino's incident) we are very, very lucky, and it has been a great year.

December 1st!

2010-12-01T05:59:00.000-08:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Well, actually, if you look in the stores like Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Target, or Walmart, it's been looking like Christmas since before Halloween. Funny how you can shop for fall home decorating items, then go over an aisle, and Christmas is right there.... but it is CHRISTMAS season, and we're very excited in our house. We spent running time to 5 - count em - 5! different stores yesterday to get advent calendars for the kids. It must not be a big thing for people in the US - very difficult to find, but Target, our 5th and final stop, had them. We will let the kids take their first chocolate this afternoon, when Nicholas gets home from school. And I get to start my December daily today - yaay! This is a book I've put together to snapshot our December, as we are always soooo busy at this time of year, with parties, and get togethers, school things and friend things. It will be neat looking back on I know! The coffee's ready - that's my cue - later!

Paper Bag book, canvas cover

2010-10-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

I've watched this on YouTube a few times, and I think this is what I need to make for my Pirate Retreat theme album. Love the canvas cover, handpainted and attached - all one piece.

The most amazing recycled scrappy organizer!

2010-10-13T06:12:00.001-07:00

This was posted on a cafemom group by one of the crafty, crafty mommies! Who would have thought to use an old lampshade, stripped down to the frame! What an awesome idea. I am so impressed by the craftiness of some people, wow! This was too good to keep to myself, had to share, as she has been kind enough to :)

Spiderlicious!

2010-10-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

Benjamin and I made it through all our letter and number flash cards in record time this morning, so we decided to make something crafty. With the use of some pipe cleaners, a hot glue gun, my cropadile, needle and thread, crayons, scissors and googlie eyes, we jazzed up some (free) little ketchup containers that we got from McDonald's and came up with these silly, spooky guys:

Benjamin's 8 legged, 10 eyed spider :)

and our little spider family. Cute, easy, cheap, and fun!

Hippo Birthday

2010-10-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

Checking in at the Dollhouse today, this is their most recent color challenge. Just so happens that I needed to make a birthday card today for a very special little boy who is just turning 6 years old, and this fit in perfectly!

Per the Dollies:
http://designdollies.blogspot.com/
very first OCTOBER CHALLENGE! Here we go....

Red, Blue, Ivory and Brown

Here is my card that I made, with these colors in mind, and a sweet youthful punny sentiment!
I hope he loves it!

Fabulous Design Dollies challenge

2010-09-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

I've been following them for quite some time, but have never completed a challenge of their's before. And the Design Dollies http://designdollies.blogspot.com have had some great challenges! I am proud to submit for them, a card that took a ton of time, thought, paper, and reconfiguring LOL! In the end, I'm very proud of this, and I think I will have a very hard time giving it away.

This is the challenge:

BLUE, GREEN, ORANGE and RED

Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, yes, if you have your idea formulated 100% in your head to start (and who does that?) I started off with one of my favorite stamps - from the Charlie Horse line over at Clear Dollar Stamps http://www.cleardollarstamps.com/ this stamp is Charliene in the Morning. I used Stampin Up paper, along with a page from DCWV Pocket Full of Posies stack. Ink is Close to My Heart clover green and star spangled blue. Markers were Creative Memories, die cuts done with my Spellbinders dies. The red accents were originally white, but with some love from Tattered Angels candy apple red glimmer mist, they became beautiful and vibrant. Bling from my stash and black embossing powder from Stampendous finish off the card. Wow, talk about name dropping! Whew!!

Here is my finished product:

Thank you Dollies, for such an awesome challenge. This is the prize up for grabs, in case anyone needs more reason to pop over and check out their blog:

Check them out, over at the Dollhouse:

Some Odd Girl contest

2010-09-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

This is just too stinking cute! Pop on over to a sweet, crafty and inspiring page and enter the contest to win! All you have to do is enter your suggestion for naming this adorable little dude!

Post their blinkie on your blog page, and enter your suggestion, link it back to your page. Super simple!

September 11th, and celebrating new life

2010-09-11T17:28:00.000-07:00

As I am sure most of the world is as well, I have thought a lot about September 11th, and the WTC tragedy. What a scary, uncontrollable shake to the entire world that day was. I remember watching tv in the morning - hubby called me over - and it was surreal to see. It's still to this day unfathomable to understand how human beings can do this to each other. I was working downtown in Calgary, at a law firm, on the 31st floor. All anyone could talk about was the attack. Because Calgary is a big oil center, it was told that if we were worried in any way about our safety, that we should leave for the day. I had Ed come and get me, there was no way I was able to concentrate. We spent the rest of the day watching tv, and listening to reports over and over. Such a sad, sad day. Unnecessary tragedy that took so many lives, and maimed so many more.

This afternoon was all about my friend Denise, her husband Doug, and their soon to arrive baby boy James. Surrounded by family and friends, and more baby gifts than I have ever seen, we celebrated the love of this amazing couple. There couldn't be better parents chosen. I was so honored to be invited, and of course became the unofficial 'official' picture taker. I have a ton of pics to upload, she will be very pleased.

My friend Shelly was so sweet, and watched the kids for me for 5 hours. When I got to her home to pick them up, all the boys were in the pool in the back yard - with Brian and Nicholas in their full clothes, Benjamin in shorts (that were not his) with a pamper that was sooooo full, absorbed to the absolute max - it was hilarious. Shelly was concerned I'd be upset, but really, they were having so much fun. And I got some adorable splashy pictures - Nicholas wrangling an inflatable alligator, and Benjamin doing his cannon balls off the ladder. The boys sure do love water!

I'm looking forward to a nice, quiet evening, maybe watching something on the dvr and scrapping a little bit. Oh, and a yummy, yummy cup of "Lee" tea to relax with. (Lee is my friend with angel wings.)

Friday Tidy

2010-09-10T16:56:00.000-07:00

I've been able to get back to a normal schedule now, with us back home from Vancouver, and kiddo back in school. Hubby is again traveling for work, so it's me and the kids and pets. I love 7:30, when the boys go to bed, as I have some time to watch tv or a movie, read, or what I've been doing lately: scrapping and making a mess LOL! I've spent a good portion of last night and this afternoon cleaning up, and trying to find a way that will work to maintain order and still give me what I need for scrapping room. Here's what I've accomplished so far:

Legally back

2010-09-07T07:50:00.000-07:00

We are back from our whirlwind trip to Vancouver, where we had to go to get new Visas so we could stay in the country. Had our meeting on Wednesday morning of last week, and picked up the new visas with our passports Friday. Played happy tourists for the rest of the time, visiting Vancouver's Gastown, China Town, chinese gardens, Granville Island, Stanley Park and Canada Place. Loved walking along the seawall, taking the water taxi boats and finding unexpectedly beautiful and wonderful places. Oh, and not to mention filling up on Tim Horton's coffee and getting my Kraft Peanut butter. I really wish we'd had more time to stay (and more money!) but we had to hurry back, as Ed is again leaving. Just getting off the plane and settling at home, and tonight he is off to Pennsylvania for a week or two. Just me and the boys, and what a lazy time we'll have. Hopefully I can get us all into routine again, and watching the money to get us back on track. It's raining today, which is wonderful as I don't have to water the lawn, but we do have a flash flood warning in effect until 7pm tonight. I've read that we are on the 'dirty side' of a tropical storm, which may have hit hurricane status... maybe I'll watch the news today. And I know I'm going to scrap today!

School, day #2, hubby's bday, last day of vacation

2010-08-24T16:31:00.000-07:00

We were up bright and early, the boys and I, anxiously awaiting the first morning bus ride. We met Alejandro at the bus stop, and one of the other moms with her kiddos, and we waited together. And waited. And waited. Finally, I called Shelly, and she said the kids at her stop were gone. Figured the new driver missed our street. Evelyn drove us to school, and we dropped the kids off at their classrooms. No worries, no tardies given this week.

Spent the day with my baby boy and my birthday husband. Yup, Ed's 39 today. I put on my facebook status last night that today I get to kiss a 39 year old man for the first time today ;) And it's true LOL!! He and Benjamin played Harry Potter on the wii for a while, then Ed ran on the treadmill and had his shower. We headed out around noon, first to Kohl's for Ed's birthday present - some yummy smelling Aqua di Gio cologne, and three white shirts. Found and tried out a new coffee place inside HEB - it is just a little coffee cart kind of thing, Minuti I think it's called. Delicioussssss. Loved my caramel macchiato. Ed had an iced chai cream. Went in search of "the" birthday cake and ended up with a deluxe coconut cream pie - Ed's pretty excited about it.

Came home, puttered around for a bit, then picked up the munchkin from the bus. Again, it was early, just like yesterday. When I spoke to the driver she said she hit her stop before ours at 7:28, and got to ours, waited 3-5 minutes then left... that's not possible, as Nicholas and I left the house at 7:31.... tomorrow we have to be earlier! This girl drives fast, and leaves fast!

Went to Kublai Khan for supper - our favorite make it, have them cook it place. Delicious as always. We all brought 1/2 our food home. Kiddos upstairs watching a movie, and we can too - the new one that came out today, with Jennifer Lopez - The Backup Plan... Then pie, then kiddos bedtime, then a show or two for us.

Awesome day. Thank you honey! Happy Birthday to you! We love you!

First Day of School!

2010-08-23T12:21:00.000-07:00

And it was a smooth morning! Maybe the key is making lunch the night before, setting the clothes out the night before, and making sure there are several alarms set. We had very smooth sailing this morning, with plenty of time. We drove Nicholas to school, had lots of time for photos and hugs. We even left before the final bell as he was settling into his coloring at his desk with his classmates. He was excited, and said he loves school. Such a huge difference! I could see it in the kindergartener's faces - that look that we had last year, the nervous and scared little faces. None of that for us this year, Nicholas is a big boy, in Grade one now, and what a difference. Benjamin was sad to leave his brother, and shouted from the doorway, "I love you Nick - a - yus!" and waved and waved as we left. I'm very glad Ed is home from work today, as he is helping Benjamin tremendously with his separation anxiety from his brother. Getting all the laundry done, and have freshly baked cookies for an after school snack, so we can sit and hear all about his first day. Hope it was great!

Nicholas was home before I even went out to meet the bus! His driver was super quick, and he was home early - on the first day of school even! He had a great day, and was very chatty, his baby blues were full of sparkle. He had his oatmeal cookies happily and talked about his day. Such a huge difference from last year. Made curry for supper, and he chattered all through dinner, then went to bed easily. We could get used to this.

Crop weekend again!

2010-08-15T21:33:00.000-07:00

Every month our CafeMom group does an online crop, and even though our last month's was just over not that long ago, we are working on August (early this month due to school starting.) Here is a challenge I did that was hosted by my fellow group owner, who wanted to see 'everyday love' between members of the family. I popped my memory card from my camera to my computer, thinking I'd have to do some searching, and I found the perfect picture right away! Benjamin and Nicholas snuggling (and hamming it up) while they were watching tv together upstairs. The do fight and argue, and get on each other's nerves, but they are serious about loving each other too.

Happy Friday the 13th

2010-08-13T15:27:00.001-07:00

This has always been a good day for me! This morning I looked forward to see what would come my way.

We were busy today, fueling up the car, hitting Target, the bank machine, Kohl's (school clothes), Walmart (groceries) then relaxing with a treat of lunch and dessert at McD's (the kids' choice.) Funny, when I was fueling up, right at the start of our outting, I couldn't get the hood to open - it popped up when I pulled the release, but the little plastic pull didn't come out, so it wouldn't release from the front latch. Called VW, and will have to go in Tuesday morning to get some help (they were too busy). At least we got all our errands done, paid all our bills (woohoo!!) and have a little money to spare (gotta love that!) Bunco tonight with my neighborhood girlfriends (yaay!) as Shelly's family is babysitting (she's playing too!)

All in all, a pretty great 13th, even with the hood thingy. Maybe I'll win at bunco... who knows? LOL!! Doesn't matter, I'm just very grateful that I get to go.

No scrapping in the works today! Hopefully tomorrow!

Awesome card!

2010-08-12T09:09:00.001-07:00

I made this card for a friend for her birthday, adding a little chocolate treat to it.
Then I found this card (below) which is the same concept, but a double card! I think I must try it. I must, I must!

By MaileLei4U

Crazy Kid!

2010-08-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

I'm going to let the layout and the journaling tell this story - - this happened yesterday.

When you are on your own....

2010-08-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

..... you scrap! Or at least that's the way in our house. I am home with one kiddo, as the other is out with his best friend and the momma - they are heading to the school where Nicholas is going to show them around, then they are having a picnic - ghasp!! - outside! (It is amazingly hot, yet again today.) Then this evening, the momma is taking them to the gym with her, so they can play while she works out. Benjamin and I are being home bodies, and that's just fine. It's giving me the chance to be a little crafty:

The first card was for a sketch challenge, hosted my my lovely cafe mom group co-owner. She made a beautiful card that we were to copy. Love this design!

The layout of my sweet goofy grinning boy I did this morning - - that's actual machine stitching too! I pulled out the old sewing machine and dusted it off - got it threaded the first time around too!

The last card is for my LMN O Pea card swap that is coming up this weekend. I actually got it done early! I was feeling the pressure, so I couldn't just let it sit. Maybe I should be smart and start working on the September ones, just to be safe!

Snack time for little man, and some snuggle time while we watch a cartoon. :)

Sometimes round is the way to go!

2010-08-08T19:15:00.001-07:00

I have 13 cards I need to have made for a swap next weekend, and it's not like me to procrastinate and wait until the last moment. Even though it's a week away, I'm feeling the pressure. I stayed up late last night to get one set done, and this is what I came up with. It's not completely finished, I think I'll do a little faux stitching, but not sure on if there will be much more than that. Love the little squirrel, from the Create a Critter cricut cartridge.

Now to get going on the next design....

I have found my peace... and am in a scrappier place

2010-08-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

All is good today. Kiddos are being wonderful (I know, amazing right?) and I am able to scrap and just enjoy the day. We are all having a jammie day, doing what we all love most: I'm just finishing some cards, and about to scrap a layout, Nicholas is watching Netflix cartoons, and Benjamin is playing Lego Batman. Not the most educational of days, but we are enjoying the stress free, relaxing feeling it brings. It is amazingly hot out again, and Edward is still away working, so we are just chillaxing :)

Here's what I've been working on the last couple days:

*layout I just finished this morning. I love, love, love this page - - the chipboard frame is sprayed with homemade glimmer mist, in SU! Tangerine Tango, CTMH clover meadow, and a Tattered Angels blue skies. Love it! And the kiddos are so sweet. Nicholas gave me the silly bandz, so this is the perfect way to keep them and the memory.

*cards I did for a cafe mom challenge, but I ummm... didn't read all the directions (they were supposed to be done with a pink emphasis... oh well!)

*This layout I did a day or two ago, about Valentino and his joy at going to the bus stop every morning. Nicholas is a very smart boy for 6 years old - - he gets to the bus stop and seeks out one of the two girls, and he passes the leash to them. They of course, think he's the sweetest thing for sharing his puppy with them.

My kingdom for some peace!

2010-08-03T17:43:00.000-07:00

I know people would say, enjoy this moment, as the kids grow so fast. Yes, I agree, they do. My husband is working out of town and the kids are driving me a little bonkers, so I would love just a little peace and quiet. I'm sad to say that on some days, I really, really look forward to bedtime, which incidentally is in about 15 minutes. Thank goodness! I always miss my husband, but today, just a little more, as I would love a break.

While the cat's away...

2010-07-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

The mouse will be sad, 'cause she missed the cat. But she will also scrapbook.

Today is day one of our July online crop in the group that I took ownership of. I'm nervous that people will be bored with it, or that they just won't participate. Today I was busy scrapping for challenges, I hope other members are too. Along with the previous post for today, of the Bunny Boy page, I did do a couple other things:

This card is for my 'unusual celebration' card - - it is in honor of rubber duckies everywhere LOL!! A requirement was using the corrugated cardboard somewhere on a card or layout. I really love this stamp set. Charlie Horse is just so sweet!

I have been trying hard to finish off Nicholas' kindergarten scrapbook, as he will be starting Grade One in just 3 short weeks. A lot of my work for the next few posts will be from his book. This one is for a cnc challenge too, a Red, White & Blue(or green) page.

This is from the Spring party at WCE that was held just before spring break. Nicholas loves the pics of him with his buddies, and that it is all about him.

I'm sure I'm not quite done scrapping for the night, but I am going to take a little tv break. More to post tomorrow.

Scrapping the Bunny Boy

2010-07-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

This is for a challenge to make an entire scrapbook layout with just your scraps, and your scraps have to make up the foundation for your page. Above is the scraps, and below is the page foundation:

after cutting out 36 2" squares, here's my finished layout:

for the flowers, I stamped them on some of these lighter scrap pieces, then used my cuttlebug to cut them out, then glimmer misted to give shine.

I bought the spellbinders dies that have the matching stamps (Leslie & I got these at CKC earlier this month.) Haven't quite got the hang of them perfectly yet, but they are pretty.

I love this layout, and how sweet Nicholas looks. Still my little small boy, so happy and so proud running home to show his artwork and goodies from school. Too soon, he'll have things just shoved in his backpack that he will forget to show us, or that he will just throw away. But for now, he's still excited, proud and eager. I love you my little Bunny Boy!

Just can't take it anymore

2010-07-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

The boys are so fortunate - they share a room because they choose to, and I think that's so sweet. So we've taken the empty bedroom, and turned it into their toy room. Sounds wonderful, right? Ummm.... it was for a while... then this happened:

I can't believe we have a room like this in our home. We've been closing the door to it for the last week or two, but now... the crap has extended too far out and the door won't close. This is my chore for today. And of course, I'm making it a scrappy challenge too. These are the 'before' pics... I will post the organized 'after' pics too, then I'm going to do a layout about it :) But of course LOL!!

New Owner moving in

2010-07-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

My friend Angie and I have taken over ownership of the Cafe Mom group Crop N Chat from our other friend Kellie. It's basically an online scrapbook group that posts challenges and layout ideas, and tries to bring out the best in creativity and friendship from each other. A lot of the things I post from now on will be drawn on challenges from our group.

... like... this little card! Love this cricut cartridge, it's called Create a Critter. Anyone who knows me knows I love raccoons, and this little one is just so adorable.

Something wicked this way comes!

2010-07-07T08:32:00.001-07:00

I had a very cool opportunity presented to me yesterday. Super cool. Awesome. A little scary. But wicked! Can't tell exactly what it is, but all things will be revealed by week's end. One little hint: it's scrappy related. Duh! LOL!! With me, of course it's scrappy related! Okay, one other little hint: it starts with O.... that's all I can say! Don't want to spill the beans! Knock over the apple cart! Give away the milk for free... or whatever that saying is! Woohoo! Can't wait to tell!

Happy Canada Day!

2010-07-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

Considering we are the only people in our neighborhood that would be celebrating this day, we are making it a red and white day. What we wear, and what we eat for supper! (Could be challenging...) Red Thai curry and white rice maybe? LOL!! I'm in the mood to scrapbook Canada stuff, so I dug through my pics and found these gorgeous ones of the kids, wearing the Team Canada Olympic shirts that Ed brought them back from his last trip up:

Future Scientist

2010-07-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

Nicholas has taken quite an interest in dinosaurs, volcanoes and rocks. We found an excavation kit at the bookstore, and he just loved it! Of course, even though I slept through most of the dig (he opened it up and got started VERY early one morning) Daddy was kind enough to run for the camera so I could see, and of course, have pictures to scrapbook:

Shoe Frog!

2010-06-30T18:20:00.001-07:00

Thomas would very much get a kick out of this page. I was talking to him on the phone when I discovered this frog in Benjamin's shoe and screamed. Thomas laughed, Ed laughed, I tossed the shoe, and the poor frog, I can only imagine he was wondering what on earth was going on! I'd been watching him the night before, never honestly thinking he'd hide out in Ben's shoe, but yup, there he was. Ed was kind enough to come out and transplant him into the garden so I could get Benjamin ready to go. Silly frog! :)

Hanging with the kids today...

2010-06-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Nothing on our agenda but the normal daily house stuff. We're still smarting a little from our weekend over-do at the pool, with our red sore shoulders and backs. Even with the sunblock. We may be getting our FREE trampoline today - Ed just called to say that he may be able to pick it up tonight and Ray will give him a hand disassembling and (hopefully!) putting together. The kids are so excited (me too!) Now it's just figuring out where we'd like to put it. Maybe I'll get upstairs to get a little something crafty done; I've got these die cut cards to make, and I'm partially done, but the design isn't totally clear in my mind yet. It's coming, but slowly. Happy Wednesday! :)

Summer's here!

2010-06-14T19:02:00.001-07:00

The boys are both home all day, and we're well into summer. We hit the pool this weekend, for 2 hours and had a blast. So much so, we're still feeling it. Even though we slathered with the sunblock, we still all got burned. The kids not as much as me, but they did too. And hubby (who opted out of sunblock) is hurting the most of all. Having both boys all day long is more difficult... Nicholas wants something to do all the time! I'm pretty tired (and yes, sometimes, I will admit, irritated!!) by the time hubby comes home, so I truly appreciate all the time he gives me to scrap!

I have an all day crop this weekend with my Peas, and we have two card swaps that I am participating in. This card is for the "scallop" group - only requirements are to use a scallop (of course!) and two embellies (ribbon and button). Cute, simple, and love the color combo.

A day with our fingers crossed

2010-05-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, hubby left work early, off to DPS in Rosenberg. He's been so patient with the motorcycle in the garage; he won't drive it until he's all legal. The office was very busy, so he stood in line, stood in line, for about 1/2 hour. As he moved up about half of the way, then he noticed on a sign on the wall that payment is cash or cheque only. Sigh. So this morning he is off to try again, chequebook in hand. Hopefully he is successful. Yesterday just wasn't meant to be. We had a big thunder & lightning storm too. I'm always surprised and a little uneasy, I'll admit, about how much lightning happens here. With luck on his side, hubby will be home soon with his license, he'll grab his backpack, and ride off to work on his new bike. That will totally make his day. After I check today's weather forecast of course.

The kids were all interested in this little black slug at the bus stop this morning. First time I can recall seeing a real one. Nicholas didn't touch it like the other kids, but he was watching. Don't blame ya pal, Sluggie left a slime trail as he moved. Ewwwwww.... He was still a little wary of things - he'd slept with us last night because he had a dream that disturbed him - that we had birds all over inside the house and they pooped on everything. That grossed him out so much he needed to be with us.

Today, today... hmmm... Think I can scrapbook! All the laundry was done yesterday, and everyone is on the road to healthy (last week was rough!) so I'm going to play in my scrappy room, see what I can come up with. More than a couple CM challenges that I want to get to!

The day before Mother's Day!

2010-05-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

Who knew that the day before Mother's Day, I would be getting the 'World's Greatest Wife Award' from my husband. Yes, I agreed this week that my husband could buy a motorcycle for his birthday (in August). He came home yesterday with this amazing deal on a brand new 2009 Shadow that he is dying to go see... so that is where we're off to today. I can only hope it goes as planned, because he really deserves it. He does everything for us, and supports me in all that I do.

Last night I finished a lovely layout for a challenge of mine in an online group. I used the new Crate paper that came in a monthly kit that I've just subscribed to (from Scrapbook Circle.) I have to say, all the cutting around the little circles/stems took a long time! But I love this layout:

Time to finish my coffee, have a shower, get the kiddos ready, and off we go to the bike shop. Hope I can contain hubby, he's so happy, I think he may explode. :P

Tons of scrappiness!

2010-04-30T06:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't believe how quickly this week has gone! Just last weekend, from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon, I was at a scrapbook retreat with 28 or so other women. What a blast! We scrapped until the wee hours, hardly slept, laughed until it hurt, ate our weight in deliciousness, and got a ton of scrapping done. Oh - and for the first time in my life, I made a grown woman pee her pants LOL!! (It involves a long story, some talk of scary movies, and a little sneaking into her cabin and literally scaring the pee out of her at 2am.) She was such a good sport! I'll post some pics over the weekend; first have to attend to some of the 'life' stuff that I neglected this week (like paying bills!)

Pretty. Simple. Pretty darn simple.

2010-04-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

This is a Valerie Salmon post, and I love this layout! Simple, pretty, and pretty darn simple to do quickly! I'll have to give this one a try, I can see this taking, oh, under 15 minutes, providing I don't try to overthink it!

mini envelope album with tags

2010-04-18T13:35:00.001-07:00

Cool paper bag mini album with binding

2010-04-18T13:22:00.001-07:00

Pre-birthday

2010-04-18T12:37:00.000-07:00

I had figured, as we have for all of us the past oh, 14 years, that we'd be doing the weekend long celebration of my birthday that falls tomorrow. Well, we did go for dinner on Thursday night, to an awesome mongolian restaurant that even the kids love. Friday night we ordered chinese food, but really late, as hubby was doing yard work and Nicholas was spending his typical Friday night with his pal Alejandro. Saturday was a yucky day - I could feel a cold coming on, and I was so tired. With many, many interruptions, I finally got a nap in. Hubby had to work for a couple hours, so he was at the office. We did a zip out in the evening, first to Home Depot to get some planting things, then to La Centerra where we sampled the Cold Slab Creamery - oreo cookie ice cream for the boys, and waffle cones of very, very, very berry sweet cream ice cream for us. Sooo good! Worth the $18. Sat in the courtyard in the dark and watched the boys zinging around, working off the sugar rush they very quickly achieved. Today, it's been a rainy downcast kind of day, but the yard is looking super green. Hubby's been outside in the garage most of the day, and the boys are video-game addicted. Laundry for me (rather than the typical Monday), and something simple (but homemade) for supper. Not how I thought we'd spend the weekend, but I did get all my presents early :) The entire series of Sex and the City from hubby, and the new Lady Antebellum cd. Oh, and the biggest treat - Thomas called both yesterday and today, so I got caught up on all things kiddo. He didn't say Happy Birthday, it was just coincidence that he was calling, and that's totally fine! I always feel so much better after talking to him; confirmation that he is doing all right. Well, the machines are beeping at me, calling for my attention . To the laundry room I go! Happy Sunday!

Funny for today!

2010-04-13T06:44:00.000-07:00

With time, women gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy.

Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think,

Good grief, look how smart I am!

Must be where 'Smart Ass' came from!

Happy Thursday

2010-04-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

Well, we've tabled the potty training for a week or two, or maybe four. Benjamin tells us he is scared to go on the potty, and forcing him will result in nothing good. So, back to our very mobile selves. Hung out with our pal E today, helped her hang some curtain rods, and had cookies and talked for a long time. Just a really good girlfriend talk, you know? Made a yummy supper; did the Easter dinner thing, just a couple days late. And you know, after a couple years adjusting it and perfecting, I can say that I make THE best scalloped potatoes. Yes I do! Picked up my new Close to my Heart catty tonight, so after a couple shows, and a little farmville action, I'll be zoned in on new scrappy goodies! So glad tomorrow is Friday! Not sure what we're doing yet, but whatever, it's Friday!!!

Things, they are a-changing!

2010-04-05T09:41:00.000-07:00

We are on our first full day of potty training. With Benjamin throwing his diapers in the garbage yesterday, there's no going back. Even if it was easier. Even if I do have to clean up little puddles. He is willing, and I need to be too. And to keep my patience. He had a dry night, which I was so pleased with, but he's had 3 accidents this morning. Lucky we have lots of cutie Lightning McQueen underwear (and I'm doing laundry.) Wish us luck!

2010-04-04T19:11:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T18:54:00.000-07:00

Our Easter didn't go exactly as planned, but it was a pretty great Sunday. We were going to have dinner at a friend's house, but we had a falling out on Friday, and we're all pretty upset about it. To save the day, hubby barbequed steaks and we had garlic mashed, green bean casserole and brussell sprouts (well, I had the brussell sprouts.) Yes, we are in the south now! LOL!! I had a two hour nap this aft, and it was pretty much a jammie day. Very lazy and laid back, with yummy coffee and the four of us vegging around the house. Oh, Benjamin has decided that today is the day he wants big boy underwear; he even threw his diapers in the garbage himself, so that is a huge step. Now we get to have a little Lightning McQueen bum running around the house, it's adorable. A couple oopses so far, but it'll come. I'm so proud (and relieved) that he's finally ready! It must have been all the chocolate eggs he ate this morning! They had a blast finding them out in the yard, and were nearly speechless when they saw the easter bunny had left "baby bunnies" for them as well. All in all, not a bad way to spend a holiday :) Sorry that the normal back-to-the-grind-Monday is right around the corner.

Scrapping right along!

2010-03-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

I've been very lucky, and this past week, I've gotten a lot of scrapping done. My favorite online group had a crop that went from Wednesday to Sunday, and I finished 10 different challenges. I impressed myself. Here's some of what I'm happy to have finished:

Ta-da! Love this layout, I'll be using it again! And I was inspired by the tv show challenge too, hence "the apprentice" title.

Our new puppy, Valentino

So, as you can see, it was a very productive weekend! And I have to thank my hubby, 'cause he looked after the boys for almost all of Saturday, and spent the day cleaning while I was in my jammies and scrapping.

Busy scrapping!

2010-03-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

Did this one just this morning, and LOVE how it turned out! This was a sketch challenge posted by my friend Janie. Love the 2-step stamping on the soccer balls - was able to make it a nice yellow to match the boys' shirts.

A House of Sickies

2010-03-07T19:16:00.000-08:00

We have been a little under the weather this past week. Nicholas celebrated his 6th birthday, with a little help from his friend, buddy, and next door best neighbor Alejandro. But it was a simple celebration, as Daddy has had first the flu, then strep throat, resulting in him being off work for the entire week. Now he's finally feeling better, and the plan is for him to go in tomorrow. But guess what... yes, I've picked it up, but I think I'm getting it faster - I was feverish and down for the count for only one day, not three, and the sore throat and swollen glands are today, on day two. At this rate, I should be all better by tomorrow! Wishful thinking? Yeah, likely.

Our new family addition

2010-02-26T07:21:00.000-08:00

Meet Valentino - our newest family member! We bought him on the evening of Valentine's day, and he is Nicholas' 6th birthday present (a little early.) Our house is never going to be the same! But the boys absolutely adore him, and Ed likes him too (although I know he would have chosen a different breed.) Valentino is a pom-chi and will grow to be a small-medium sized dog. The cats are not caring for him too much, but generally just keep their distance. I've called my mom for lots of puppy training tips, as I had a dog growing up, but of course Mom and Dad did all the work, so I have pretty much no experience. Ed was working in Calgary for 2 weeks, and didn't get a voice in which dog we picked, but we're happy with our little furry boy ball of fluff. I'm very grateful that we are getting into a routine, and that I am able to scrapbook a little bit. This is my first ever puppy layout, and I love it! There will be many, many more to come! I'm already planning a little book about his puppy-hood.

Sing song of our home these days:

2010-02-26T07:20:00.000-08:00

"Bwownie fo' me

Bwownie fo' my mum

But not Val -a- tee- no

'cause it all come out his bum"

Sorry - - had to share - - this is what Benjamin has been singing for a week LOL!! We're trying to teach the kids no people food for the dog, especially chocolate, as it will make him very sick. so now, Benjamin sings this all the time, with the cutest little sing-song voice, and it makes us crack up laughing every time!

Little threesome

2010-02-09T19:30:00.000-08:00

Well, we've been home on our own, without our Papa Bear since last week. 6 days. And do we miss him. I haven't been in the scrappiest frame of mind, so the only crafty things I've done are my must do's - the swaps that I had signed up for that were coming due. But tomorrow, Benjamin and I are staying home all day and I'll be {hopefully!} in the zone! Nothing else going on, so a page or two should be able to happen. Hubby is still working away in Canada. He's cold, and doing the same as we are, shopping away the missing us feeling. We have some wonderful Olympic Roots Team Canada clothes coming that I can't wait to see. Of course, some Kraft Peanut Butter too! (and some smarties - have to show Bridgette what Canadian smarties are; the US Smarties are something entirely different.) I'm thinking a lovely tea or hot chocolate will do just fine about now, along with a new episode of Lost! Something scrappy this way comes, very soon, promise!

Jumped on the 365 bus!

2010-01-13T13:33:00.000-08:00

Well, I've done it! I've jumped onto the 365 bus! I'm doing it in a different way though than some. If you've heard of or seen the Project Life by Becky Higgins, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Committment is to take one photo each day, and add it to an album, you know, the ones with the divided pages, and use one or two slots in every 6-slot page for your journalling. Simple right? Essentially yes... but make sure to keep up, or you can be in for trouble! I'm up to date with my pics, but have to journal for two days. Not bad. Will do that tonight. But it's a fun adventure, and the kids love it!

Shimmerz Paints!

2010-01-13T13:20:00.000-08:00

Just heard about these today, and they look gorgeous! Lots of shine and glimmer to your projects. Can't wait to give these a try!! Check out their site at http://shimmerzpaints.blogspot.com/

SNOW

2009-12-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

So it snowed in Texas. Yes it certainly did! Enough that the schools let the kids out early, and many offices closed early for the day, due to the worrisome 'deteriorating conditions.' I don't know about anything bad but the kids had an absolute blast with it. I had to teach Benjamin how to make a snowball, and a fifteen year old how to roll a ball to make a snowman. And I always thought this is something you are just born knowing, but I guess not. It truly is a different world here. I did get to crack a couple of my neighbors with snowballs, and that was totally fun. My friend Evelyn (who is always so careful opening the door when you ring the doorbell) opened the door, saw it was me, threw it open to give me a hug, and was welcomed with a big snowball up her sweater in the back. LOL!!! She did a silly, goofy dance, and it was so much fun. She was a big part in helping build the snowman. It was a wonderful day (Dec 4/09) and I can imagine it will be quite some time before our part of Texas gets a snow like that again. What a treat! Pictures to come!

Win a Gypsy

2009-09-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to figure out how to post this - guess I'm not computer savvy enough! Anyway, follow this link, and enter to win a free Gypsy from Provocraft! I cannot wait to get my hands onto one of these babies!!

Cricut Cartridges Helper

Saying hey

2009-09-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since I've posted anything! I had to laugh, as the last two cards posted I just gave out - one to a cyber friend, and one as a birthday card for a girlfriend. I haven't made cards for some time - think I'll have to get into the groove soon. Especially with Christmas coming - it's just around the corner!

I've been sick for the last few days. Not to give all the details, but I would not be a tiny bit surprised if this is what Swine flu is. I can only hope I'm on the downward slide of it.

Kids are good, hubby's good. Nicholas is loving Kindergarten and his newfound enlarged world. Benjamin enjoys having Nicholas room to himself during the day LOL!! And when I'm not sick, I usually get a little scrapping done.

Thomas will be here in less than a month, and we're all very excited. I hope he remembers to bring his pictures from his Europe trip with Haley.

So, it's supper time, and I should quickly vaccuum in between cookie sheets being timed. That way when hubby gets home, it looks like I did something :)

What's up?

2009-08-09T08:02:00.000-07:00

Heya! Nothing much exciting going on, but we have been busy. Hubby had a week off, as Son was supposed to come down and visit. He had to change his dates though, as he needed to work and make more money for his overseas trip later this month. We were sad he couldn't come, but so excited for him about his trip. And he'll be here in October, yaay!! Anyway, hubby took the week off anyway, and we did lots of little day trips. Headed out to Galveston (twice), to Brenham to tour the ice cream factory (yummy) and did lots of fun things. The kids and I had a total blast! But then, back to work comes, and hubby is travelling again. I believe we are going to go visit him on the job this week. He's in Louisiana again, so a six hour drive is on the agenda for mid week. We have to do this while we can, as Nicholas will be starting school in two weeks!! So excited. And nervous. Proud and scared all at once. We have gone to almost every play place in the city, and now when my baby wakes up, he says Mommy, where are you? I'm ready to go to play place! LOL!! Maybe today... maybe.

So, I've done NO scrapping, and only made two cards in the last few weeks. I'm feeling the need to be scrappy, but the inspiration and mood has to be just right with the schedule, and that's hard these days. This is what I've managed to get done:

When it rains, it pours!

2009-07-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

... except if you live in Texas. We've hardly gotten any rain since it flooded at the end of April. There was a pretty fantastic downpour yesterday while the boys and I were buying groceries at Wal-Mart, but I don't know how much of it hit our neighborhood. Our grass looks like a straw field.

Anyway, with hubby still away, and back in Louisiana where we met with him last week, we are missing him. Seemed like the perfect opportunity to do a layout (challenge) from cm showing just how beautiful it was when we were driving around seeing the town. We were crossing this railway track when hubby stopped right on the tracks (which of course made me nervous, even though it was clear that no one was around) just for me to get some pictures from each window. I love this layout, and it will always remind me of our day sightseeing.

Summer Loving!

2009-07-09T10:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted since June 16th! (Which, of course was my baby's birthday. Well, not so much a baby anymore, he turned 21!) And I can't wait for him to come and visit, he'll be here at the end of July.

We've been busy, as hubby has been travelling so much for work. That is not the norm (or at least, since we moved to Texas, it is not supposed to be the norm) but with so many people on summer vacation, being short-handed is common, and hubby is picking up a lot of the slack. We even drove to Louisiana last week and spent a few days with him on the job. Discovered the Frothy Monkey coffee shop and LOVED it! If you ever get the chance, seriously, try the Turtle latte. A work of art in a cup. Mmmm.

So, here's my post for today! I've been working with this beautiful little flip flop that I bought from JoAnn, for $1 for the pair. I used it as a template and cut out chipboard for each page, then 2 pieces of patterend paper for each chipboard piece (it was a lot of work.) Then I printed all my pics in 3x4 or wallet size so they would fit, and embellished and journalled. Pretty simple, but I love it. And Benjamin loves it, and that's what makes it so special to me. My sweet little 2 year old loves the things I make for him, how fantastic is that!

I started this back in June, right after my online friend Janet posted that the challenge was coming. Now mine is NOT wearable, and you'll see why in a second. This is the original cutie pie flip flop. Loved the colors, totally says summer to me!

Now you'll see why it's not wearable, and why there's only one! The other was used as a template to create an album about my 2 year old son and his beautiful and adorable 'girlfriend'. Here's the pics:

Front view, fanned open:

And the back view, fanned open:

My little boy just LOVES this album! It is hanging right now in his room and he is sitting here laughing and pointing at the picture. Now this is what scrapbooking is all about :p

My real addiction

2009-06-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

So, everyone knows me knows how much I love Tim Horton's coffee. Oh, and the fruit explosion muffins. There is nothing in the entire world better than the combination of these two; quiet time, sitting outside, enjoying the fresh air, total relaxation and enjoyment, with these two things. But you know, there is something that I love more than that. Take a good look, and you'll see what that is!

'Alter this'

2009-05-31T08:53:00.000-07:00

Well, this one was for sure a challenge! I was sent this big plastic blue clothespin and told to "alter" it. I searched and searched for ideas, and couldn't find anything like what I wanted (was going to do a money tree lol!!) As the deadline is near, I opted for a more 'normal' approach, but I'm telling you - I'm going to get another of these and put my money tree idea to work!) I love this though, the colors and the pics. Think this may be hubby's Father's Day gift!

This boy!!

2009-05-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

We've had a busy couple days. Our community pool opened, our splashpad is working, and we reconnected with a neighbor that we hadn't seen over the winter. Got hubby off to his job in Colorado, so it's just me and the boys. We've been playing outside and I was getting lots of Benjamin pictures, so I wanted to turn it on Nicholas, who was willing, and being my little poser. I absolutely love this simple layout, and he does too. His personality truly shines through in these pictures, and he looks like Mama's little boy here. I love this kid!

No pics today, but will add some

2009-05-26T19:55:00.000-07:00

Celebrated our second Memorial Day weekend - and had a great time. Our community pool opened, so we got to hang out and splash for the first time this season. Went and scrapbooked at a friend's house - Michelle - she is so funny. I don't know if I've ever met anyone who laughs as much as her! Then we had a neighborhood bbq on Monday that was totally awesome! I will add photos when I'm on my own computer (using hubby's laptop at the moment.) We went to the splashpad this morning (well, 12:30) and hung out there for about an hour and a half. Likely not the best time of day - the kids and I are pretty pink. They aren't too bad, but I'm sure I can be seen from space, I have a very distinct pink/red 'glow'. I should know by now - it's almost like a different sun here, more direct, more heat for sure! Maybe I'll even take a picture of my burn... but not tonight. Tonight, I'm going to go and try to get more into my book "Rhett Butler's People." I loved Gone with the Wind and Scarlett, but this one is taking me longer to get into. Maybe because I'm always so tired when I read lol!!! Pics tomorrow... after another visit to the splashpad with friends. And I'll remember the sunblock this time hehehe!!