Happy Birthday Scrapbook Page

This page is based on a PageMaps sketch that was posted on ScrapCity for a sketch challenge.


I used Basic Grey papers and alphabet stickers. The journaling card is 7 Gypsies, I stamped some Stampin' Up stamps, and added some birthday-themed buttons. What is it about seeing photos of my husband and my girls? It just makes my heart melt! I love it!

I forgot to mention yesterday that it was Princess' birthday! She's 3 years old now. (My husband thinks I'm crazy with the dog, but I can't help it!) My youngest had her last band concert of the year last night, and my oldest has her last band concert of the school year tonight. The band director that both of my girls just LOVE is retiring after 36 years with the school district! He's wonderful, and we're going to miss him very much. Tonight is officially THE last time he's directing a concert with the school, and it will be a packed house. Last night was very sad, and tonight is guaranteed to be much worse. He's getting a much-deserved retirement, but he has been such a positive influence on my girls and their music / singing, that I don't want their interaction with him to end. We'll miss you Mr. Lamb!!

I tried to do some blog hopping yesterday, but something is definitely going on with our Internet connection around here. We need to place some calls and figure it out, because it's so frustrating! I was able to look around, but loading the "comments" page was taking FOREVER! Chances are, I stopped by to see what you've been up to, but didn't leave a comment because it was taking too long. I hope everything speeds up again very soon! Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

Go Jessica Go!

There are some challenges going on this month over at ScrapCity. The theme challenge this month is MOTION, and this is my layout for that theme. GO!


This is my youngest riding up and down our street on her bike. She loves to go as fast as she can! I used Basic Grey papers, monograms, and letter stickers. I also added some colorful buttons. Look at the inside of the large "O" in the title . . . that's a little photograph of Jessica! I stamped the arrow with an Autumn Leaves stamp, and I traced around the arrow and the large "go" with my white uniball signo pen. I love the way this layout turned out! It's so colorful and FUN!

My computer is driving me crazy lately. I'm not sure if we just have a BAD Internet connection lately, or if there is something going on with my computer. Lately, my email has been so slow, I need to load pages / refresh them more than once, and it takes forever to move from one page to the next. So yesterday, I backed up all of my photos on a CD, and then I deleted them from my computer (which just freaked me out to do that, even though I have them on CD!!), I did a cleanup on the computer, ran a defragment, and emptied the recycle bin. Do you think the computer is running any faster? Well, I'm sorry to say, NO! I'm not sure what's going on!

Then my next gripe is all of the news reports about rising gas prices. This is insane! I'm really complaining today, because my van needs a fill up, and I'm dreading going to the gas station. I have a 26 gallon tank! Egads! It's just ridiculous, and it's not going to get any better any time soon. It's a scary economy right now. OK, I'm done with my complaint for the day!

I'm going to attempt to FINALLY do some blog hopping this morning! My computer better cooperate! I hope you have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

Feed Me?

ScrapCity had a spring fling crop over the weekend. I was not able to participate in all of the fantastic challenges, but I did manage to get one challenge done. This is my layout where we were challenged to use stamping on our page. I love using stamps on my scrapbook layouts, so this challenge was fun for me!


I used tons of great dog stamps that I have. I created the title, the "it's a dog life" circle, the "feed me!" bowl, the journaling block, and the border at the bottom all by stamping. I also used a new dog bone brad that I received from Fiona. It's on the corner of the journaling block. Isn't it cute? These photos are from when we first got Princess. Apparently, she was really hungry! She doesn't do this anymore, so I'm glad I captured this on film! It was so funny!

As usual, I'm behind on blog hopping. I will catch up this week! Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

I'm so excited!

Woohoo, my friends! I just found out that I am a new Bug designer over at Regina's Bitten By The Bug site! YEAH BABY! I can't wait to get started! This site issues challenges using a specific cut on the Cricut. This is going to be FUN! I'm shocked and totally THRILLED!

Happy Saturday!

Just a quick post for today. I chaperoned a junior high dance last night, and today I chaperoned my oldest's singing competition. I'm tired! We had to be at the junior high this morning by 7 a.m.! On a Saturday! The singing competition went well. The judge was really impressed with the choir. In fact, she called them phenomenal! We're going to head out for some dinner! Family time! I hope you all had a great Saturday. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Spring at Last!

Spring is definitely here. This is what I see when I walk out the front door. I LOVE it!


I should know what kind of tree we have in front of our house, but I'm not completely sure. I do believe it's an ornamental pear tree. Whatever it is, it's so pretty at this time of year!


This is another view from our driveway. I have to take this photo right away, because the blooms don't last long. In fact, if we get strong winds this weekend, they'll be all gone!

I don't have anything new and crafty to show you right now, but I hope to have a chance to play around today. I will be chaperoning a PTA dance tonight at the junior high, and I'm chaperoning a singing music competition tomorrow. My oldest and I need to be at the junior high tomorrow morning at 7 a.m.!! Isn't that horrible for a Saturday? My dreams of sleeping in have been shattered!! Oh well! I guess I just need to plan on sleeping in on Sunday! I hope you all have a wonderful Friday and a fantastic weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Card Sketch #41

It's Thursday, and that means it's card sketch day at Sketches! {by Tamara}. This is my card for Card Sketch #41. Remember if you create a card using Tamara's sketch, be sure to link it back to her site, and you could be her next guest designer! PLUS, Tamara has a call out right now for NEW Card Design Team members! Check out the full details on her site! I LOVE being a member of Tamara's team! It's totally fun for me each week to use her sketches and design a card to be featured on her blog!


I am very pleased with this card, because . . . . I used my NEW Nestabilities!! Woohoo! I used the largest circle to cut the card itself, a scallop circle to cut the sage green card front, and then another circle to cut a mat. I have the Cuttlebug, and I haven't figured out the perfect "sandwich stack" yet, because using the C plate is too thick for me. I cracked a B plate in half. It scared me, it was so loud!! Anyway, back to the card. The papers are My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus, the stamped frame is a Stampin' Up stamp, and the "thanks a lot" is a $1 Michael's acrylic stamp. I added tiny flowers from a Lisa Bearnson QVC flower kit (I distressed the flowers with ink), and I added some rhinestone centers. The ribbon is a scrap, and I distressed it with ink too. The card and all of the layers have also been distressed with Tim Holtz brushed corduroy ink. I just love this little card! It's less than 4" in diameter. CUTE! You can click on the photo to see an enlarged view of the card.

I have errands to run today. Just lots of miscellaneous things to do! I hope you all have a wonderful day, and thanks for stopping by!!

EDITED TO ADD: I am one of five winners over at Lesli's Dragonfly Time site! Thank you to everyone who voted for my layouts, and thank you to Lesli! There were amazing layouts submitted, and I'm honored to be among the winners. THANKS!!

Birthday Layout

EDITED TO ADD: It's the last day of voting at Lesli's site. I submitted two layouts for her sketch challenge. One of them is a "Sisters" layout, and the other is a "Chicago Bears" layout. If you get a chance, could you vote for my layouts? (Well, just vote for them if you actually like them!!) The voting is in two separate spots on the left column of her blog. Thanks!!

I REALLY need to finish scrapbooking 2005 and move on to 2006, and then I need to do some power layouts or something! I really want to close the gap on how far behind I am in my scrapbooking! Here's a birthday layout of my oldest daughter's birthday in 2005.


I used a Kimberly Hodges K&Company kit on this layout. I love the large letters that I used for the title because they're so colorful! I traced around them with a black fine point marker to make them pop off the page. I added epoxy stickers under the title. I added some colorful strips of another patterned paper, some cardstock stickers, and I added a journaling block that I created on the computer. I distressed the journaling block with ink. I added some small silver flower brads on the layout. My daughter's favorite color is blue, so she really likes this layout!


This is a close up of the first page! What cake decorating skills I have! She's so cute holding that cake!


I always try to get family shots on each and every birthday. I love these photos!

I have LOTS of running around to do today. I'm getting a little behind on blog hopping again, but I'll catch up with all of you soon. I'll be around to see what you've been creating! Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!

Snowman

I created this two-page layout on Saturday, and it turned out just the way I wanted it to. I love when that happens!!


I FINALLY used the wonderful "snow" cardstock stickers that I received as blog candy from my wonderful blogging friend, the very talented Samm. The cardstock stickers are so fabulous, that I wanted to really showcase them on a GREAT layout! These photos are my girls having a fantastic time in the snow in our backyard, and they're building snowmen. The papers are Bazzill, the border at the bottom was created with my Fiskars threading water punch, and I stamped the journaling block with an Autumn Leaves stamp. You can click on the photos to see them larger!


Here's just page one. My girls had so much fun, and yes, Princess is always posing for photos too! She loves the snow!


Look at that snowman cardstock sticker. Isn't it fantastic? It's joined together with jump rings, and there is a jewel hanging off the bottom. The snowman had a Christmas sentiment on its lower half, so I covered it up with another wonderful cardstock sticker from the pack. I'm just THRILLED with this layout. It's crisp, clean, simple, and I love it!


This is the pack of cardstock stickers that Samm sent me as blog candy. I'm sure you can see why I wanted to use them on a special layout. They're really fantastic!! Thanks again Samm!

I got some spring cleaning done yesterday, and I need to continue today. It's going to be another nice day! Yeah! Have a wonderful day, and thanks for stopping by!!

Journalist In Action

I created this page on Saturday when I was scrappin' with my Diva girlfriends. There is a challenge at ScrapCity to use yellow and red on a layout, so this is my take on that challenge.


This is my oldest daughter in 2005 when she was on the newspaper staff at her school. She wrote an article about the Mayor of our town, and she interviewed him in person. He is such a nice man, and he was so impressed with Emily during the interview! He even took her into the board room and let her sit in his chair. It was a fun experience for Emily. I used some Foofala papers that I've had for a while now. The ribbon under the Prima stack is also Foofala. I stamped an Autumn Leaves stamp for the journaling, and I stamped an Autumn Leaves swirl under the photo. The title was cut on my QuicKutz. I'm very pleased with this page!

I have so much to do around the house today. I need to get into my spring cleaning BIG time! Have a wonderful day, and thanks for stopping by!!

Scrapbook Pages & Diva Day in Review

I had a great time yesterday scrapbooking with my Diva girlfriends! I didn't get much done, but I like the pages I created. I'll show you two of them today. I created these for a sketch challenge at Lesli's blog. Please check out the rest of the pages at her site. If you like my two pages, please vote for them. One of them is in the top section of the voting, and the other is in the bottom section of voting. If you like other pages better than mine, that's OK too, select the ones you like. All of the pages are in the left column on Lesli's site. Go check them out and please vote!


This is my first sketch layout challenge. I love the big circle. I traced a lazy susan that was in my girlfriend's studio, and I hand cut the circle. Not bad! The title is QuicKutz. This is all of us dressed up to support the Chicago Bears when they played in the 2007 Super Bowl. They were NOT victorious. Just a fun page. I really like the way it turned out!


This is the photo that appeared on my Christmas cards for 2008. I always take a photo of the girls in our backyard. I just LOVE this photograph! This sketch worked great to showcase this single photo. The papers are My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus, and the large brads are Making Memories. I added some Primas and rhinestones. I really love it!


Now for a Diva Day update! I had a wonderful day at my girlfriend Sue's house! It's always so much FUN being there! This is Queen Diva Sue! She normally has a tiara on when we're in the Diva Den. She's fabulous either way . . . tiara or no tiara!


This is Diva Deb sitting at the stamping station table. Yes, there is a stamping station. Can I just tell you right now, that Sue's studio in her basement is an amazing place to be?!! Everything you could possibly want is there! It's just so much fun to create in her space! Diva Deb is also without her tiara, but once again, fabulous either way!


This is my wonderful girlfriend Diva Kathy. I met my husband through Diva Kathy! Kathy and I worked together back in the day . . . I'm talking the late 80's!! We've known each other for a long time! I took this photo by holding the camera in front of us. I could have had Sue or Deb take the photo, but that's not as fun, right?

So, I had a GREAT time! Thank you Sue! I hope we can all get together again! I got just five pages done, but I did only stay until 5 p.m. We did a lot of talking, listened to music, watched a movie, and just had a wonderful time! For today, I need to run some errands, do laundry, and get organized for the upcoming week. My oldest and I need to run to Michael's for styrofoam balls, because apparently she needs to create a model of a human eye. I'm not sure why, but that doesn't really sound fun to me. Sure, a human eye is an AMAZING thing, but does she really have to construct one out of styrofoam to appreciate it? Have a great Sunday, please go vote for me, and thanks for stopping by!!

Off to Scrap!

I just wanted to make a quick post for today. I'm off to scrap with my girlfriends! I need to get packed up. I didn't get anything packed yesterday, so that's why I'm up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday. I'm going to be scrapping at 9:30 a.m. When I get home, I hope to play with my NESTABILITIES! My very first set came yesterday. I got a circles set, and I cannot wait to use them!

I should have lots of new creations to show you tomorrow. Have a great Saturday, and thanks for stopping by!

Goodies!

My father-in-law gave me an Archiver's gift card for my birthday. This was from both him and my mother-in-law. Obviously, I was thrilled. I got it from him a couple of weekends ago, and I'm happy to say that I showed great restraint, and I did NOT run out to spend it the next day! Quite amazing for me, if I do say so myself. So, yesterday, a trip to WalMart had to be made, and what's near Walmart? Yes, you're right, Archiver's! So, I decided to spend some of it. I'm happy to say that I still have a $5 balance on the card! See, restraint!


So, this is what I got! I got some fantastic Love, Elsie Noel goodies for HALF OFF! See those yellow stickers? They say 50% off. We like those stickers! Most of the Noel paper was gone, so I got 4 sheets of the same patterned. It's great though, because it's very Christmasy on one side, and snow patterned on the other. I also got that little Making Memories Noteworthy journaling spiral bound book. I've really wanted it, so I did pay full price for that. I also got one sheet of Noteworthy paper. Then I got three very cute epoxy Halloween stickers. I also bought adorable pet stamps. Both of these items were 75% off! See those aqua stickers? They say 75% off, and we LOVE those stickers! Then, I had two coupons for FREE Hot Spot items (Hot Spot items are all $1.99), and I got adorable Scrappy Cat acrylic stamps! So, I am thrilled, thrilled, thrilled with my purchases! I have Christmas layouts to do, and I'm very excited that I will be able to use the Love, Elsie Noel! I really love the entire Noteworthy line by Making Memories, so I will TRY to use these items and not hoard them! I believe you can click on the photo to see an enlarged view. FUN stuff!

It was a BEAUTIFUL day yesterday! The weather was perfect! It was upper 60's, maybe low 70's, and it was sunny and NOT windy. I had the windows open, and when the girls got home we sat out back on the patio . . . it was lovely! I am so excited, because I am scrappin' tomorrow in the Diva Den with my Diva girlfriends! Yeah! We always have so much fun, and it's been way too long since we got together! I need to organize today and decide what I'm taking with me! I hope you all have a wonderful Friday and a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Card Sketch #40

Thursday is card sketch day at the Sketches! {by Tamara} site. I LOVE the sketch this week! This is my card for Card Sketch #40. Remember . . . if you do the sketch, link it back to Tamara's site, and YOU could be her next guest designer! My very good blogging friend Dawn was Tamara's guest designer on Saturday, and she did an amazing job with her card! Be sure to check it out!

I used my Love, Elsie papers on this card. The card front, the stripes, the star, and the man and women are ALL from Love, Elsie. I used my Lisa B. KOTM foam stamps for the star, "you", "&", and "me". I love those Kits of the Month! The white around the paint stamped letters was done with my new Uni Ball Signo white pen. I'm very happy with the way this card turned out!

Well, my Princess is now all clean, and she's so fluffy, soft, and she smells good. She really does NOT like getting a bath, and it's so hard trying to stop her from pulling too hard on her choke chain collar. However, we both survived the ordeal, and I managed to stay pretty dry! Have a great Thursday, and thanks for stopping by!

Thanks Card, Music Thanks, & Goodies!

I'm LOVING my Fiskars threading water punch! I used one of the cardstock pieces that I showed you yesterday to create this card.


I used some gorgeous flower glitter paper that I received in a RAK. I added the blue scallop piece to the bottom, and I add a ribbon border. The felt flower I received from Nicola, I added a flower rhinestone from my Lisa B. QVC kit, and the "thanks" is a $1 Michael's acrylic stamp. It took me just a couple of minutes to make this card, and I think it's really cute!


Next, my daughter Emily created this card last night. She's in the jazz band at school, and during her last performance, a professional group that her teacher performs with performed after the school's jazz bands performed. They were excellent! I totally enjoyed seeing them! Anyway, the teacher suggested that the kids send "thank you" notes to the jazz band. What a great idea. So, she gave them a specific member to make a note for, and this is my daughter's note for a man that plays the saxophone in the group. The background paper, the "you rock" stamp, and the star stamps are all Love, Elsie. The treble clef and the music note are also stamps. The "thank you" is from a Stampin' Up set. I used the threading water punch on the bottom of the music note paper. It's subtle, but it looks good.


Next, can I just show you some goodies that I received from my most wonderful blogging friend Kristy? Kristy is so talented! I admired a flower that she embellished on one of her scrapbooking pages. She told me that she added some pearls to the tips of the flower. She then told me she was sending me some of the pearls from Australia! Who am I to argue? Not only did she send me the GORGEOUS Kaiser pearls, but she sent me other goodies too. Kristy . . . you are the BEST!


Here's a close-up view of the pearls, some FANTASTIC ribbon (the photo doesn't do the ribbon justice -- it's all just amazing!), some die cut felt (love it!), and a beautiful card! Kristy, what can I say, you overwhelm me with your generosity! I am so fortunate to have such wonderful blogging friends! I am very appreciative! Thank you!!

Well, it's supposed to warm up today, and I really need to take Princess for a bath. This will be interesting! Princess has long hair, so I do not bathe her at home in the tub. It would be a MESS! I take her to this fantastic local place where you wash your own dog, and then, you just leave the mess behind. The tubs are waist high, so it's actually really easy to give them a bath, and there's no bending over a tub. So, that's the first thing I need to do this morning. Princess does NOT like the water, and I'm taking her by myself, so I'm thinking I'll be getting a bath in the process! I hope you have a wonderful day, and thanks for stopping by!

Guest Designer, Book Sale, FANTASTIC Punch!

Edited to add: My very good blogging friend Misty Lynn is giving away NOT blog candy, but BLOG BOOTY! Isn't that funny? Blog Booty! Anyway, go take a look at the amazing booty that she's giving away, and if you leave her a comment, be sure to let her know that Carol/ScrapMomOf2 sent you!!

Thank you for all of your wonderful comments about Jessica's altered project that I featured yesterday! I am pleased to have another very talented guest designer today! I am happy to show you all a wonderful scrapbook page created by my oldest daughter. I told you all yesterday about our trip to a local Goodwill store. We were trying to find something to alter or use in a crafting project. My first idea was that we would purchase some accessories, but that proved to be a little difficult. So, after searching in the discount bin, Emily discovered these. Yes, my girls love dogs! It's another dog-themed article of clothing!


I would assume that these are some sort of pajama shorts. They seemed to be such a strange size . . . they were really large (wide), but super short. Anyway, Emily loved all of the dogs, and the colors really appealed to her. Me too! I love the block design!


This is what she created! She used my pinking shears to cut the dog squares from the shorts. She took a lot of time to make sure that she got all of the background colors coordinated into a pattern. If you'll notice, both borders have pink in the center, and then the colors are symmetrical on both sides. The pink square on the bottom right side of the photo said "I love Fido", and she created a very small "Princess" on the computer, printed it on pink cardstock, and adhered that over the "Fido". Please also notice the bottom left side of the page. Those three buttons came off the shorts! Pretty cute, huh? The fabric squares were attached to the page with Modge Podge. Because the background sheet was paper, and not cardstock, it did cause the paper to ripple a little. If we were to do something like this again, the Modge Podge would definitely need to go on heavyweight cardstock so that there would be less rippling from the glue. Love it!


I mentioned that we volunteered at the library's book sale over the weekend. This is everything that we purchased during the sale. We do love to read! The total price for all of this? Less than $20!! We even got a DVD game for a dollar! Gotta love that! What a bargain!


I also mentioned a Fiskars threading water punch that I purchased from a message board friend. Here it is. I'm in love with this punch! Doesn't it create a fantastic scallop border? Love it! I just need to figure out how to punch around a rectangle. I did not have much success with turning a corner. I couldn't get the corners to look right. I'll see if I can find some information about it. If not, it doesn't matter, because I love it just for border use!

Well, I'm off to the post office to get our taxes in the mail. Nothing like waiting until the last possible day, right? I then need to run some errands. Have a wonderful day, and thanks for stopping by!

Altered Jar - Guest Designer

I'm happy to have a guest designer today on my blog. This is an altered project that my youngest daughter worked on over spring break. We had horrible weather over spring break, so we decided to take a day to craft. I had the idea to stop at a resale/thrift store to purchase an inexpensive item that inspired us, and we were then to use it on a crafting project of our choice. Now, I should mention that I was thinking we would look at accessories: jewelry, belts, small purses, etc. We stopped at a Goodwill, and I'm not sure what they were giving away on the day we were there, but it was incredibly crowded, and the jewelry was all locked up in a case, and we couldn't really find anyone to open it for us just for us to look. Plus, I had a feeling that a worker would be too happy with us just browsing in the case when the store was so very crowded!! So, while we trying to find someone to open the jewelry case for us, we stopped and looked in a discount bin. My daughter found this outfit, and she really liked it.


She loves dogs, and she really liked the big red felt dog on the outfit. I liked it too! So, this was her pick for her crafting project.


She decided to make Princess a "Good Girl Cookies" jar. I've mentioned before that I think my girls are very creative, and I thought her choice of outfits and her idea on what to use it for was just clever! Doesn't that red dog look cute on the front of this jar? So, this is a recycled peanut butter jar. She used Modge Podge to adhere the white cardstock band around the jar. The jar is larger than 12" around, so the white band is in two pieces. Those red, white, and blue buttons have been in our stash for such a long time, and they really work with this color scheme.


This is the top. I cut the red cardstock with my Coluzzle circle. She used a couple of dogs cut from the outfit to decorate the top. She also used three dog brads. Pretty royal blue ribbon was tied around the lid.


Here are more of the dogs cut from the outfit, and she used alphabet stickers to personalize it for our very spoiled Princess!

So, there you have it. My guest designer for the day with her altered project. I love it! (I have to admit that I had a hard time cutting that cute outfit, even though it wasn't in perfect shape. I didn't really want to destroy an outfit . . . it would have been much easier to destroy a not-so-attractive piece of jewelry!) Anyway, we just wanted to be creative in a different way, and I think we succeeded. I will have another guest designer tomorrow so that I can show you what my oldest daughter created! Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

Saturday In Review

We had somewhat of a busy Saturday. We had a few appointments, we volunteered to help out at the book sale, we shopped at the book sale, and somewhere in between doing those things, my girls completed a very cool puzzle. My father-in-law just gave this to my girls last weekend. Do you enjoy puzzles?


This puzzle is so cool, and it has an amazing 3D effect! The girls really enjoyed putting it together!


Here's the finished puzzle. Very fun! The girls are already working on the 2nd one that they got from Grandpa!

I'm very excited, because I got my Lisa Bearnson KOTM yesterday. It's awesome! It's called "Details Enclosed", and I just love everything about it! I can't wait to use some of it! Plus, a message board friend bought an extra Fiskars threading water punch, and I was the lucky one who snatched it up! I just got that yesterday too! Oh my goodness, the scallop edge it creates is fantastic! I'll post some photos tomorrow! I should also post a photo of the stack of items that we got from the book sale! I love used book sales!

We have another busy day ahead of us. I have lots of things to do around the house, I need to run to the grocery store, and we need to finish up our taxes. Yuck! I hope to squeeze in some time to create something! Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Love You

Two blogging ladies are about to launch their own site called Page Plans. Lesli and Chris are very excited about this endeavor, and they will kick things off on the 15th. They put out a call for design team members, and this is what I created for the call.


Chris created a card sketch, and this is my interpretation of her sketch. I used Heidi Grace patterned paper that I've had in my stash for a very long time. I distressed everything with Tim Holtz brushed corduroy ink. The card front has a deckle edge. The chipboard letters are from Lil' Davis. The three flowers are small Primas, and I added small rhinestones for their centers.

We have a busy day ahead of us, so I won't be around too much visiting blogs. I hope to do that later today or tomorrow. Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Hangin' In The Hot Tub

I didn't get a chance to create anything new yesterday, so I thought I would show one of my scrapbook pages that I did a while ago. This is one of my favorite pages!


We don't often get a photo of the four of us together. We need to do that more often! In this shot, we were visiting my mother-in-law in Arizona, and we were hanging out in her hot tub. The best part? This was in February. Believe me, in February, the weather in Illinois is horrible, so how cool was it that we were in a great location, in warm weather, hanging out in a hot tub? Pretty awesome! The background paper is Scrappy Cat, the frame is from My Mind's Eye. I love foam stamps, and I used my Making Memories alphabet with blue paint to create the title. I also used some blue paint to distress the edge of the frame. I journaled on orange vellum, and cut the journaling into strips and attached them to the layout with brads. There you have it, one of my favorite layouts! I just love it!

Thank you for all of the compliments on my hair. My goodness, you're all very sweet! I don't think it looks spectacular or anything like that. I posted a photo because a couple of people asked me to, and I'm just crazy enough to do it. Like I mentioned, I'm just thrilled that it's not hanging in my face anymore!

I enjoyed helping set up for the book sale, but WOW, was it hot in the room where we were setting up. I couldn't wait to be done! I set up the whole kid's area. I found a Calvin and Hobbes book for my girls. They love reading those cartoons! I also found a couple of books for myself. It's nice to set up, because you get to see everything that's there, and you get to shop early! We'll be back there on Saturday to help out again. My girls are going to help with straightening up and packing up when it's over.

I'm hoping to have some time to create today. I started reorganizing a little in my area yesterday, but I have so much more to do! Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

Card Sketch #39

It's Thursday, and that's card sketch day at the Sketches! {by Tamara} site. This is what I created for Card Sketch #39. Remember if you use the sketch, link it back to Tamara's site in the comment section, and YOU could become the next guest designer!


I used GORGEOUS Scenic Paper Route double-sided paper that I recently got from a prize package that I won from Wendy Johnson at Paper Crafts magazine. She sent me some AMAZING goodies. I'm shocked that I actually cut into this paper. It's one of those sheets that I really love, and usually that means that I'll end up hoarding it for quite some time. You can see both sides of it on the card. Isn't it fantastic? I also used some gorgeous twill ribbon that I received from my very good blogging friend Jana, and the chipboard piece I just received from Wendy at ScrapCity. I painted the chipboard swirl black. The flowers are Primas, and the button is from my stash. I used the black paint to highlight the large flower and to distress the edges of the three cardstock pieces that were used on the card front. I LOVE the way this card turned out!


A few people told me that they wanted to see my new do, so here it is. It's the same hair, just shorter. Plus, I really needed a highlight. My hair was VERY dark on top, and it looked awful. I'm feeling a little more human today! I can't believe I'm actually posting a photo. I'm crazy I think! It's cold, rainy, and so very gloomy again today. It's supposed to rain all day long. In fact, we're supposed to get thunderstorms. I'm off to the local library to help set up the used book sale that they're having on Saturday. The ladies that run the book sale always call me to help, and they're all so sweet that I never want to say no. Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

Thank You ScrapCity!

I want to give a BIG thank you to ScrapCity for all of the wonderful goodies! Wendy and the gals are such great ladies. I participated in quite a few challenges over at the ScrapCity site, and I racked up a lot of points for doing the challenges. I was the winner with the most points, and I received an AWESOME prize package! Check this out!


I have to say that this might not even be all of it, because I put some of it away before I remembered that I needed to take a photo! Plus, this is two prizes put together. Pretty fantastic, isn't it? I got patterned papers, die cut papers, lots of naked chipboard, flowers, ribbons, and the Cosmo Cricket Be Good pack! What do I like best about all of these amazing goodies? I didn't already have ANY of it! I'm actually going to be using some of it today on a card! There are a ton of challenges for April at ScrapCity. You should check it out! Thank you Wendy!! I want to also point out that ScrapCity is the site where I'm going to be the guest designer for July!

I'm off for a much needed haircut and highlight today. I'm behind on blog hopping AGAIN. I'm going to visit you all very soon. Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

Penguin Vacation Card

My very good blogging friend Deb at Stampin' on the Mountain is going on a much-anticipated vacation to Kauai, and that gave me the perfect opportunity to use my new penguin stamp on a card for her! I hope Deb has the best vacation ever! She really deserves this time away!


My SBS2 Sister Becky posted the CUTEST cards using this stamp, and after I saw her cards, I just had to buy the stamp! Look at her first card here, and then another one here! You really need to check out her creations, and I'm sure you'll agree that they're AMAZING!

For my card, I stamped the penguin, and I used colored pencils and gamsol on the image. I added a tiny bit of Stickles to the center of the flower on her head. The sun and the palm tree were detail cut from some awesome paper that I found in the Target $1 spot. Target papers are so very thin, but they're really CUTE! Both the palm tree and the sun have some foil on them. Very cool! The "vacation" ribbon is also from the Target $1 spot. I wanted to create a "scene", so I tore paper to look like a beach, the water, and the sky. What do you think? I was thrilled with the way this card turned out, and better yet? Deb loved it too!

It's rainy and gloomy here today, but that's OK, because we did have three awesome days in a row. It was actually warm, and the SUN was out! I hope you all have a wonderful day. Thanks for stopping by!

A Couple of Birthday Cards

I had one of those weekends where I feel like I didn't even have a weekend! Too much going on, and not enough time at home to relax! It's going to be a LONG week!


I left making my Dad's card until the very last minute, so I whipped it together very quickly. I had this great Bazzil page starter birthday sheet of cardstock stickers, and I thought this one was PERFECT for my Dad's card. It pretty much says it all. I mounted it on double sided My Mind's Eye cardstock, and I added "Dad" to the top with some alphabet stickers.


I feel bad that I didn't mention my nephew's birthday on April 3rd! He is 18 years old! He's my very first nephew, my parent's first grandchild, so needless to say, he is very special to all of us! He was born when I was still single, and I spent a lot of time with him being a crazy aunt! I made his card quickly too. Same cardstock stickers and My Mind's Eye paper. I added some American Crafts ribbon to the tag.


Here are my girls with Grandpa. He had a very nice birthday! Look at the shirt my Dad has on! My sister-in-law always buys those for him. He wears them with pride!


These are my nephews, Matt (the 18-year old!) and Mike. Aren't they handsome? They are my sister's sons. My niece, my sister's 3rd child was at a soccer game.

I hope you all have a great week! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday Dad!

My mom would not be too happy if she knew I was posting this photo, but since she doesn't have a computer, I'm safe posting it! Plus, I love these two, and I want you to see them. This is my mom and my dad!


It's my dad's 82nd birthday today. Happy Birthday Dad! This photo was taken on Christmas Eve at our house. Now my mom's hair looks crazy, but there is a reason why. Unfortunately, she had fallen down a single concrete step at my sister's house. She landed right on her tailbone, and she hurt her ankle too. She was going down to their basement, and she missed the last step, so she fell. I told her to get a lawsuit going against my sister (just a little family joke there)!! Anyway, she was still quite sore at Christmastime, so fixing her hair wasn't really high on her priority list. Just wanted to point that out, because that's why she would be upset with me for posting this photo! Whew! Got all of that? As for my dad, I'm thinking he was winking at me when I took the photo! I'm not sure! He's a goofball, and I love him like crazy! Happy Birthday Dad! I hope we share many, many more birthdays together! I love you!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

I Missed You MORE!

This is the card that I gave Jessica when she got home. Here's the story behind the card . . . Jessica and I have gotten in the habit of trying to "top" each other with how much we love each other. So, I will tuck her in at night, tell her I love her, and she'll reply "I love you more". I've repeatedly told her that she couldn't possibly love me more, because I gave birth to her, I'm older, I'm larger, and she is a part of me, so clearly, I love her more. She then tells me that she is younger, she hasn't met and loved as many people as I have, so she has more love to give, and there is a huge part of that love just for me. Hhhmmm, that's logical! But, of course, I still love her more!


So, now the front of this card might make sense! I clearly missed her MORE! When I gave her the card, she said, "no, you didn't", but on the inside I had already written, "Yes, I did!" Ha ha -- score one for MOM! Just a simple card with the sentiment done on the computer, a striped patterned paper scrap (My Mind's Eye) from my desk, and ribbon. The flowers, the chipboard center flower piece, and the flower-shaped rhinestones are from a QVC kit. The really large flower and a vellum flower are folded in half so they would fit on the card front. Just a fun colorful card for Jessica's return!

I have tons of errands to run, a birthday party to go to, another birthday to celebrate tomorrow (my Dad's!!), and cards to make right now! Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

She's home!!

YEAH! I'm so glad!! Jessica's home! I missed her so much! Off I go to cuddle with my girl!

HUGE News & Thank You!

I have BIG news! I am going to be the Guest Designer at ScrapCity in July! Woohoo! I'm very excited! I will share what I create with a kit with everyone on that board, and of course, I'll share it all with you too! This is going to be so much fun for me! I can't wait! I'm thrilled that I was chosen!

I have a thank you to post for my very good blogging friend, Fiona. I received a gorgeous card and some amazing goodies from her for my birthday! Thank you so much Fiona!! You are so very sweet, and I really appreciate it!

Look at this gorgeous card! What a sweet Penny Black image, and Fiona's coloring is PERFECT! This card is so pretty and sweet! I absolutely love it!


Fiona sent me some Sugar Nellie stamped images. I love to receive stamped images. It's so much fun to play around with an image that you don't own. I can't wait to create some cards with these images. How fun! She also sent me pet rub ons and dog bone shaped brads. I love them! My Princess pages are going to be so stylin'!!

Next, Fiona had a letter featured as the star letter in this issues of Cards & papercraft. She sent me a copy of the magazine! I'm so excited to look through a UK magazine! Now, how cool is it that this UK magazine comes with papers and an accessory pack? This is amazing to me. I've heard many UK crafters talking about using freebie papers on their cards, and I just didn't know what they were talking about! Free papers! I'm impressed! I can't wait to use some of them! US magazines . . . why don't you do this? It's fabulous!!

Next, I just got this book from Amazon.com. Lisa over at 4 Scrappy Sisters recommended it, and I love Becky Fleck's sketches, so I was eager to make a purchase. Can I just say right now that I LOVE Amazon.com? I ordered this book on Tuesday afternoon, and I had it on Thursday. Their service is amazing, and I have never been disappointed with dealing with them. Hand down, one of my absolute favorite online stores! I'm going to take some time this weekend to dig into this book, and maybe even create a page using a great sketch! I have a busy weekend ahead of me, so we'll see if I actually get this accomplished.

I want to say that I have only EIGHT MORE HOURS until I get to pick up Jessica. I miss her so much! I cannot wait to see her! I hope she had a fantastic time on her Outdoor Education trip, and I'm sure she did, but I just need to hug her!! I'm still VERY behind on blog hopping, and I apologize for that. I will be catching up with you all very soon. Have a wonderful weekend everyone, and thanks for stopping by!