Kodak Moments--Ginger Williams

Layout a Day--Day 5 and 6

2011-12-07T07:16:00.000-06:00

Opps! Well yesterday was crazy busy so I never did get a blog post up--so today you get two projects instead of one.

In honor of the season I actually have some Christmas layouts to share today. Both feature Echo Park's new line: Season's Greetings.

First up "The Clone Trooper Christmas."

The journaling reads: "About two weeks after Halloween you Blake started to get really excited about the Clone Troopers from Star Wars. It was all you talked about for weeks and the only thing you wanted for Christmas was to have a Clone Trooper costume. It was really cute to see you find the costume hanging up and waiting for you on Christmas morning. You put it on right away and even wore it while you learned to ride your new Bike—which you were excited about, but not anywhere near as excited as you were about this costume! December 25th 2008"

And here is my extra layout, "Sitting on Santa's Lap."

The journaling on this one reads: "Last year you older boys were very eager to talk to Santa! For months the two of you had been plotting on what you wanted to ask him for and working hard to be extra good and worthy of receiving it. You Blake asked for a Lego Minotaurus game. You had seen it online and had been wishing for it ever since. Ty, you wanted a Pogo stick. I'm not sure where you got the idea, but you were really hoping for one! You boys must have been good because Santa did bring the items on your wish list. Spencer you still don't really care much for Santa, but you warmed up to him a little once he handed you a toy and candy cane. --Dec. 2010 "

Thanks for coming by!

Layout a Day--Day 4

2011-12-05T08:50:00.000-06:00

Soccer season wrapped up just before Thanksgiving this year, and was a really good activity for Ty to be in this fall. He learned a lot, and for a first time player, he really was pretty good as a defender. I think he had a good time playing and was happy that they won many of their games. He also loved that he was on the same team as his best friend. This layout is about their 4th game day and features the very fun Bella Blvd Making the Team line.

The Journaling reads: "I am so glad that we put you in soccer this fall Ty! It has been so much fun to watch you learn and progress as a player and have a blast at the same time. One of my favorite moments from this year was in your 4th game. You were playing defense and doing a great job of it. You stopped many of the opposing teams’ drives by stealing the ball away. On this drive you blocked the approaching player and stole the ball by kicking it right through his legs. Not bad at all for someone so new to the game! 10/2011"

Thanks for visiting!

Layout A Day--Day 3

2011-12-02T09:02:00.001-06:00

Happy Friday everyone! I still can't believe it's December 2nd already! Thank goodness we did finally get the tree up last night and start opening our advent calendars. We have been late getting started with these before and it was my goal not to be late with those this year! We still have plenty of decorating to do, but hopefully this weekend will give us a little time to finish that up.

Today I have a simple share of a page I did for Scrapbook.com in October using some lovely Studio Calico Memoir. I also got to use my new Cricut Expression 2 (Locker Talk Cartridge) to make the little camera at the bottom.

4 Year Old Spotlight Stealer

The Journaling reads: "For years Spencer you ignored the camera, you didn't understand what it did and I had to jump through lots of hoops to get a smile out of you. No more though! You have become a bit of a camera hog lately! In fact you love to have me take your picture and you immediately want to see the back of the camera to see how you look. Now when I'm taking pictures of things or other people it's a sure bet that you are going to notice and insist that I take your photo instead. I love that you now understand what a camera does and will willingly pose for me (less hoop jumping for me). I also LOVE that you have so much fun participating and in seeing the results! September 2011"

Thanks for visiting!

Layout A Day--Day 2

2011-12-01T09:30:00.000-06:00

Quick share today, this time of some beautiful Bela Blvd--Finally Fall line. I adore this line and have already used up a bunch of it!

The journaling reads: " You constantly amaze me Blake! You are always one to do things in a creative and unique way. You think outside the box and have a very active imagination. I guess then that it should not have been a big surprise when you decided to pick not one of the hundreds of big orange pumpkins at the pumpkin patch, but this white pumpkin. You loved the fact that was unique from the others—just like you Blake! October 2011"

Thanks for visiting!

Layout a day starts today

2011-11-30T09:02:00.001-06:00

Hi everyone, sorry for the giant gap between posts--life has just been frantic and full of things like sicknesses, big projects, a vacation, and all the usual stuff that sometimes gets in the way of my to-do list. I have also been working on a blog re-design--but that's taking a lot longer than I thought it would, so for now I'll stick with the current design and maybe go back to the changeover sometime after Christmas. To make up for the gap though I'll be doing a layout a day for the next two weeks solid (well on week days at least)--maybe even a little longer as I have a lot of projects to share!

First off today is this layout I did for Scrapbook.com last month featuring the beautiful fall colors of the Jillibean Soup Apple Cheddar Soup line.

The journaling reads: "This was the first year we skipped the Oil Ranch and picked out your Halloween pumpkins at a local pumpkin patch instead. It was a very fun outing! The patch had much larger pumpkins than the Oil Ranch and Ty had a good time trying to find the biggest one he could! Blake you were enamored with the white pumpkins and were so excited when we told you that you could have one. Spencer you just wanted a pumpkin small enough for you to easily carry and were pleased to see they had small pumpkins too! October 2011"

Also today I have a couple of Christmas Cards I made for the Cricut Blog,

that you can check out by visiting their Blog Here.

Thanks for visiting and check back tomorrow for more!

Monster Bingo Time And An Announcement

2011-10-14T07:28:00.003-05:00

Well, I hinted at this just a little last week, but now I can officially announce something I'm really, really, excited about! I am joining the Cricut Design Team!!!!! If you have been following my blog for a while then you know that over this past year I've completely fallen in love with my Cricut and so I practically leaped out of my chair with excitement when Jana Eubank emailed me about it!

My first project, some Monster Bingo cards, are up on their blog today. You can see a close up here, but you can see the entire project by checking out today's post on the official Cricut Blog.

And if you are a Cricut Circle Member you can see my fist post on the Circle blog here, featuring a Fall card and treat holder.

And since it's Friday I thought I'd do another Friday Flashback--Cricut Style! Here are a few of my favorite Cricut projects that have recently been published in the Cricut Card Magazine using the ultra cute Stork's Delivery Cricut Cartridge.

Thanks for letting me share my excitement! This should be a grand adventure and I'm happy that I'll get to share some of it here on my blog! Have a great Friday!

Hey, Howdy, Hey

2011-10-13T06:55:00.000-05:00

Well, I have picked up a nasty cold somewhere so today's post is going to be short and sweet. Just a simple share of one of my past Scrapbook.com layouts from last month. It's about Spencer's Halloween costume from last year featuring We R Memory Keepers Spookville collection.

The journaling reads: "Spencer, you made the cutest little Woody for Halloween! It was easy to pick out your costume this year as you love Toy Story so much! You were especially excited to wear your hat as I think it reminded you of how much you love to steal and wear grandpa's cowboy hat! Thankfully now you have one of your own to wear! Halloween 2010"

I'm off to go nurse my cold and find some medication. Have a great day!

The First Day Was A Little Rough....

2011-10-12T08:59:00.000-05:00

The first day of school for Spencer, that is. He has always had a hard time being left with anyone outside of his family, and the look of utter betrayal in his eyes as I left him screaming and crying in his preschool room was hard on me too. But I knew it was time for him to learn to adjust being with other adults and I knew he was ready for this step. The second day was also hard at drop off time, but that was the last day he cried. In just a few short weeks he has come to love his pre-school so much! Now when we walk into the school he quickly drops my hand and runs to give his teacher a welcoming hug, rarely ever looking back at me. He loves his class now and I love to see him so happy and progressing so nicely with his communication skills. He continues to use his ipad with proloquo2go as his main way of expressing himself, but has also learned lots of new and fun ways to communicate at school. We are so pleased with the progress he has been making lately and consider it a major answer to our prayers on his behalf.

So here is his first day of school layout. You can see that before he understood that I was going to be leaving him there he was pretty excited about it!

The papers are by Imaginisce from their Geek is Chic line.

The journaling reads: "Today was your first day of preschool Spencer and I am so excited for you! You had a hard time letting me go today, but I think you will quickly become accustomed to it and have a really fun time! You have great teachers that are supposed to be wonderful with autistic children and I know you will learn lots with them. We debated for a long time about when to start you, knowing it would be hard, but also knowing you were ready and needed this specialized help. This timing just feels good to your Dad and I, and we feel like Heavenly Father has helped prepare you and us, and has guided your placement in this program. May you have a wonderful year Spencer! Aug 22 2011" Based on a sketch by Becky Fleck

Thanks for stopping by today!

Ty's First Day of School

2011-10-04T09:06:00.000-05:00

Because of my blogging hiatus I haven't yet shown my September Scrapbook.com layouts here on my blog. One of my favorites from the bunch was this one of Ty and his first day of school using the Basic Grey Oxford line.

The journaling reads: "As you start 4th grade Ty, I am amazed at the young man you are becoming! When did you grow so tall and handsome? It seems like it happened practically over night! You are confident and excited to be starting this year at a beautiful, brand new elementary school but also glad that you know a few administers, teachers, and kids in your class (including your best friend Tristan). I'm excited for you to start this new adventure and hope that your teacher is great and that you have a wonderful year! August 2011." Inspired by a sketch by Becky Fleck

Sadly, his best friend did end up getting moved to a different class, but they still see each other a lot, and he has made many new friends as well!

More of these September layouts to come!

Thanks for visiting!

Little Wizard

2011-09-29T07:46:00.000-05:00

Today I have yet another layout to share with the very fun Nightfall line from American Crafts. I'm a sucker for almost any cute Halloween line and I've been itching to play with this one since it debuted at Summer CHA! This one is about Blake and his "Ron" costume from last Halloween.

The Journaling Reads: " Blake you loved being Ron this Halloween! You and Ty (who went as Harry Potter) had a great time having make-believe duels and reenacting scenes from some of your favorite films! It made for a very fun Halloween! October 2010"

Thanks for visiting today!

3rd Grade Field Trip

2011-09-28T14:18:00.000-05:00

I loved going with Ty last year on his third grade field trip! It is a rare moment that we get to spend time together without Blake and Spencer along and it was nice to have the day to focus just on him! I hope we get more opportunities like this one soon! The papers are again from the very cute Fancy Pant's Off To School Line.

The journaling reads: "I had so much fun going with you Ty on your third grade field trip! It is a rare moment when we get to spend some one on one time together and I loved having this chance to attend the play and see the art museum with you. It was also nice to get to know your friends better and watch you interact with them! October 2010."

Have a happy Wednesday!

Off to School

2011-09-27T09:32:00.000-05:00

Back to school layouts have been a large part of my work the past two months at scrapbook.com! Today I have a quick share of a layout about Blake's first day at his new elementary.

Off to School

It uses the very cool and boy friendly Off To School line by Fancy Pants. I love that I have so much of this collection left--I have lots of fun ideas for this line!

The journaling reads: "How grown up you look to me Blake, and you are so ready for first grade! I love seeing how good you are getting at reading and at math. I think you will really enjoy this year as you become even better at reading and see how much fun it can be! 8/12"

Thanks for visiting today!

Fall Family Mini Session Information

2011-09-24T17:32:00.000-05:00

Yes, I finally have all the information together for mini sessions this fall. The date will be October 22^nd and I will have the following slots:

Morning sessions at Spring Creek Park:

8:30am

9:00am

9:30am

10:00am

Afternoon sessions at Burroughs Park:

3:30pm

4:00pm

4:30pm

5:00pm

5:30pm

For the first time ever, I will also offer a second date on Sat November 5^th to try and fit more of you in. These are the time slots for November 5^th

Gleannloch Farms

3:00pm

3:30pm

4:00pm

4:30pm

5:00pm

5:30pm

Just a reminder, these sessions are mini sessions where my goal will be to get 1 or 2 family poses for Christmas cards etc., and 1 pose of each child. Sometimes there is time to get a shot of just the children together and just the Mom/Dad together as well. If there is time left after all of that, and you have a specific grouping or pose in mind, I have no problem attempting it! Typically a mini session will take around 20-30 minutes and will yield around 10-12 photos which will be edited and then given to you on CD to print as you wish. The cost for these mini sessions is $25 per family. CD’s will be given out just after Thanksgiving.

I will begin booking on October 1^st, hopefully giving everyone enough time find out about it and see if it will work for their family. I fill up very, very, fast! Many times on the first day. You may call or email, but if you are going to wait up until midnight please just send an email J I’m often up that late on a Friday night, but just in case I’m actually sleeping let’s not disrupt that. J

If you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to call or send me an email!

Enjoy your Saturday!

Why So Quiet?

2011-09-23T20:10:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know. That is the question I keep getting. This is by far the most I've ever let my poor little blog be ignored. Let me see if I can give a little accounting and then you might understand.

These past two months I've created 52 different layouts for either Creative Memories, F&W Publications, Carta Bella Publications, and Scrapbooks.com. I've also created another 40 duplicate layouts for Queen and Company's Board program. I've designed 13 digital Christmas Card Templates, 24 layout sketches, a 2012 digital calendar, 6 regular (non-digital) cards, 2 gift bags, 1 mini album, and 10 other miscellaneous items (home decor/calendar/display stuff).

To say that I've been busy and a wee bit sleep deprived would be an understatement :) So that is my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

The bad part is that most of it is stuff that I can't show here on my blog until after it comes out for publication, the good parts are (and there are lots) 1. That I'll have a lot of books and magazines that I can give copies away of in future months. 2. That this is an unusual number of projects for me to be working on at once so now that I'm finished I'll have a lot more time for blogging. 3. I have 8 new scrapbook.com layouts to share over the next week or so. 4. I can now focus on getting mini photo sessions organized--in fact tomorrow there will be information posted here about dates and booking info--as well as an email going out to those of you who have done a session with me in the past/and or expressed an interest in having one done this year. And lastly 5. I have have an announcement to make--not tonight, but hopefully all the i's will be dotted and the t's crossed soon so that I can share, all I can say at the moment is that I'm very excited about it and hopefully it will give me more things to share on my blog down the road a bit :)

So thanks for your patience during my "absence." I'll try to make it worth your wait, and I'll start off by sharing my favorite layout that I did for scrapbook.com this month with the super fun Nightfall line from American Crafts:

Ready For Magic

So thanks for visiting today!

Are You Waiting On Fall Family Mini Session Info?

2011-09-01T19:19:00.000-05:00

I've had a lot of people ask me if I am doing my fall family mini sessions this year as Sept 1st has typically been the date I start booking these. The answer is yes I am, however, I do not yet know what the dates for these will be. I'm waiting to see Ty's soccer schedule and then I'll be able to pick dates. I'll post here and send out an email as soon as I know, and I'll let everyone know the booking date. They typically fill up really fast (in the first 24hours) and I have to turn some families down after that. I'm may entertain the idea of having two dates instead of one this year. Hopefully this will allow more than 10 of you to get a session. If you have any other questions please feel free to email me!

Here is a little sample of my 10 sessions from last year. We lucked out with pretty much perfect weather at all three locations and I had a really marvelous time photographing all of you amazing families! I'm hoping for more of the same for this fall!

Thanks for visiting today, and if you are here looking for scrapbooking posts, I'm sorry for the short hiatus, (I've been buried in projects), but scrapbooking posts will start up again tomorrow!

Winner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-08-09T08:48:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it pays to be first! At least this time it did! Congrats to Char for winning the My Memories Suite giveaway!

Just send me an email Char, at gingerwilliamsphotography at gmail.com to claim your prize! Congrats and happy digi scrapbooking!

And if you didn't win, but are still interested in picking up a copy of My Memories Suite I have a coupon code for you that will save you $10 off. Just enter code STMMMS22824 at checkout.

And here are a few cards I made awhile back for the Pebbles blog, that have yet to make it over here. They feature the Happy Go Lucky Line.

Thanks for visiting today!

Playing With Toy Soldiers

2011-08-08T07:24:00.000-05:00

I clearly remember when I was a kid playing with plastic parachuting army men with my little brother. They were fun then, but they are even more fun now as I get to play with them alongside my own three boys. We recently had a good time with them in the backyard, while I (of course) took photos. This is the resulting layout featuring more of Crate Paper's Toy Box line--which really couldn't have been more perfect for this!

The Journaling Reads: "You boys had so much fun with these parachuting soldiers! We spent a good hour in the back yard tossing them up and trying to catch them as they floated down! I loved watching you boys play with them as it brought back many good memories of being a kid and playing with them with my little brother (Uncle Adam)! It's so fun to see you boys enjoying this childhood classic! May 2011"

And Don't forget about the My Memories Suite Giveaway below! You have until midnight tonight (central time) to post your comments. The winner will be posted tomorrow morning.

Thanks for stopping by!

My Memories Suite and a Giveaway!

2011-08-05T08:55:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday Everyone! Today I've got a special post for you--with a very fun giveaway! A couple of weeks ago I was asked to review a digital scrapbooking software package called My Memories Suite. I had a lot of fun learning and playing with it this past week. I found it fairly easy to learn, most functions were intuitive and easy to figure out. There is a large array of basic patterned papers and embellishments in just about any color you could imagine. It has many capabilities beyond just basic digital scrapbooking, including making digital albums complete with video and sound, DVDS, Calendars, Cards, Etc. I liked how simple it was to add photos and access my personal library of previously purchased digital scrapbooking kits. Adding papers and elements was fast and simple, as was cropping elements and adding them to my projects.

After a few minutes of playing with this software I easily created this digital scrapbook layout about Spencer and his love of playing with his Daddy's hat and sunglasses.

Little Dude

I used a kit called All Star by Kristin Cronin-Barrow to design it in My Memories Suite.

You can find out even more about it from their You Tube Channel, or by watching the video below.

So, do you think you might be interested in testing this software out for yourself? I hope so, because My Memories suite has generously provided me with an opportunity to give one of my readers a copy of their fabulous software. For a chance to win it simply head on over to their website...

...and check out all of their wonderful digital scrapbook kits. They have all kinds of amazing and beautiful kits! Then come back here and leave me a comment telling me which is your favorite! Here is my favorite kit, Boyisy by Lindsay Jane

Simple enough right? If you'd like additional chances to win you can follow My Memories Suite on Facebook, Twitter, or their blog, then leave me an additional comment saying you did so. That's up to 4 entries per person! So hurry on over and check them out because this give away will close on Monday 8/8/11!

Thanks for visiting today!

Our Little Bucket Boy

2011-08-04T08:50:00.002-05:00

Well, we are still frying down here in south Texas! I tried to take the boys out to the park for a little while yesterday afternoon, but we only stayed about 20 minutes before retreating back to air conditioned spaces. I should have taken it as a sign when we were they only ones there! I think today we may try the library instead, at least that way we can escape our heat induced house arrest for longer than 20 minutes.

Today I have a Pebbles layout to share with you. It is based on a fabulous sketch by Becky Fleck, and was done for today's post on the Pebbles blog. Be sure and check out the blog to see the sketch and another beautiful layout based on it by fellow Pebbles DT member Natalie Dever.

The journaling reads: "One day I found you Spencer, climbing in and out of this bucket while it was high up on a kitchen chair. You were very proud of yourself for managing to fit inside it and kept climbing in and out! It was very cute to see you find joy in such a simple thing! Summer 2011"

And more trip photos, this time from the 4th of July that we spent with family.

We started the morning with Krispy Cremes and a parade. The boys got their exercise jumping, waving, and yelling for candy to be thrown their way.

Ty even got lucky enough to catch this parachuting army man.

After the parade we headed over to Bahama Bucks for patriotic snow cones (and if you have never been to a Bahama Bucks then you have never really had a true snow cone--theirs are amazing! We go every time we visit my in-laws.)

Yummmmm--Strawberry Cheesecake deliciousness!

The boys also adored getting a chance to meet and hold their newest little cousin, Lilly. When asked if they wanted a little sister they said, "No, but new little girl cousins are fine." I laughed--that works for me! And they are about to get their wish for new cousins--we have three more on the way and at least one will be a girl! Maybe even this week!

And with the drought Texas is having, all fireworks shows were canceled. We made do with some firework imitations. These cousins spent a good hour or more out in the backyard playing with their light-sticks.

Somewhere that day we managed to fit in cake, ice cream and presents for the birthday boy as well! Whew! It was a busy but very good day! (And after reading this I saw how "healthy" we ate too! LOL--good thing it's only once in awhile!)

Thanks for visiting today and be sure to come back tomorrow for a very fun giveaway!!!!!

A Special Day For Blake

2011-08-03T08:43:00.000-05:00

My boys are going to be starting off this new school year in a new school--not because we have moved or anything like that, but because the school we used to attend was overcrowded and a new elementary school was needed.

I have mixed feelings about it.

We loved the first school--great teachers, great special ed teachers for Ty, a great speech specialist, etc. It was a really great place for Ty and Blake to be.

However, this new school has a lot of potential. The principal from the former school has moved over here as has one of our favorite special ed teachers. It's also very close to grandma and grandpa's house and the boys are really excited to be attending a brand new school. I've got my fingers crossed that they will get good teachers and that the tiny little playground equipment they installed this week is just a start with (hopefully) bigger and better additions to come before the start of the school year. Like I said--it has a lot of potential.

One thing I really hope the principal keeps is the choosing of class champions. Both Ty and Blake loved this tradition and each got a turn at being the class champion at the past school.

Here is my layout about Blake's turn, done with the new Oxford line from Basic Grey

The journaling reads: "All year long Blake, you talked about how much you wanted to be voted Coyote Champion of your kindergarten class. And as each quarter passed and someone else was picked you became discouraged. I told you that there were many nice and well behaved children in your class and that your turn would come at some point but maybe not in kindergarten. You, however, kept trying hard to be helpful, good, and friendly in class and at the end of the very last quarter it paid off! You were chosen as your classes’ Coyote Champion and you were so excited! The note that your teacher sent home said your class picked you because you always do your work and follow the rules. It also said you were a good friend and were respectful to all the other students! We are so very proud of you Blake! Congratulations! --May 2011"

And another set of trip photos from our day at Disneyland

Buzz lighter is always a favorite ride!

The boys loved the Jedi Training Academy! Each got a chance to fight Darth Maul.

We got to the very front of the line for Pirates of the Caribbean and the ride broke down. I was pretty disappointed as this has been my favorite ride since I was a teenager. Thankfully they got it going again later in the day.

Spencer loved the Winnie the Pooh ride and was fascinated by the Tikki Room.

Mickey Shaped Pretzels

Meeting characters of course!

We were having so much fun that we stayed quite late for the boys. I think it was just before 11pm--which in Texas would have been nearly 1am. Ty still didn't want to leave, but Blake was begging to go and Spencer was falling asleep in our arms. Overall it was a really fabulous day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Backyard Bubbles

2011-08-02T07:54:00.001-05:00

Wow--Tuesday already! I have a feeling this week--and all the last few days before school starts are just going to fly by! I still have a lot I hope to do with the boys before school stars, but I'm not sure all of it is going to happen. At least I've already started my back to school shopping. This is the first time I've had to do that for all three boys and now it's starting to hit me that I will have some time to myself each day. It will be short as Spencer will be going to just a few hours of preschool a day, but still--this could be the end of hauling kids with me to the grocery store for awhile! That will please me and the boys--they hate shopping. :-)

In the meantime, I hope we do have a few more summer moments like this one below:

The Journaling reads: "I think this is a perfect capture of a simple summer moment Blake! You, out back, blowing bubbles into the wind for Spencer to chase! I love watching you boys partake in all the simple joys of summer! May 2011" The papers here from a line by Little Yellow Bicycle called Sweet Summertime.

And as promised another day of our summer vacation in photos. This time Legoland CA:

Since Ty and Blake are completely crazy for anything Lego, we had a really good time! :-)

Thanks for visiting!

My Little Band of Brothers

2011-08-01T08:20:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday morning everyone! We are recovering from a fun weekend of family time! I love weekends like this! Mostly we stayed home, but we pretty much spent all our time together. We swam, watched movies, played board games, baked cookies, and helped Ty pass off a bunch of requirements for his bear rank in cub scouts. We think he will have everything done this week--which would be great as it would still give us several months to work on his arrow points before he turns 10 and becomes a Webelos scout. I still can't get over that--Ty's going to be10 years old!!!! How in the world did an entire DECADE fly by that fast. I must be getting old...at least looking at Ty, and how tall he is is starting to make me feel old!

Anyhow though, I do have a layout to share today. It's one of my recent ones for Scrapbook.com featuring some of my very favorite new Basic Grey--Oxford.

The Journaling reads: "I love how close you three boys are! You are each others favorite playmate—and especially now that it is summer—you are always together. I also love how you older boys include and play with Spencer too. He adores you and wants to do everything you both do and is so happy when you include him in your play! I know that the coming years may naturally end this special, little boy type of “best buddyship”, but my hope is that as you grow older you will always be close as friends. May 2011"

And since a couple of people have asked for it, I'll be adding a few summer trip photos to the ends of my posts each day this week. For today, here are a few from our first non-family stop on our summer trip: Carlsbad Caverns

We decided to go in the natural entrance an hike down to the bottom rather than take the elevator--and I'm glad we did! There are many fascinating and beautiful formations on the way in, as well as at the bottom!

It took us about 1 1/2 hours to reach the bottom, and once we got there we were blown away that there could be so much more to see! We spent another 1-2 hours touring the bottom of the caverns and loved every minute--well okay, everyone loved it until about the last 20 minutes or so when we started getting tired and a bit chilly :) Spencer wanted to be carried at that point and all the amazing formations started to look the same. We hurried on the last 1/4 mile or so without stopping much so we could ride the elevator back to the top.

At the top the boys enjoyed some rock candy and found a place to take these photos:

It was a really interesting day, and I'm glad I got to scratch this place off my "bucket list" :)

Have a great Monday everyone!

Floral Lane

2011-07-28T09:52:00.000-05:00

I'm busy working on assignments today, but I wanted to share a little card I made for the Pebbles blog. It features their beautiful Floral Lane line. It went up on their blog yesterday, and you can see the it and several other beautiful cards made by members of the design team by clicking here.

Pebbles is also hosting a give away on their blog for some fabulous alphabet stickers. Hop on over to their blog to enter the giveaway!

Thanks for visiting!

Sandy Fun!

2011-07-27T10:55:00.000-05:00

Well, I feel like I'm finally back in the groove after our looooooog trip this summer! We had such a great time visiting family, exploring California, Utah, and New Mexico, and especially spending so much time together as a family! I love being married to a teacher and having so much time in the summer together--it is such a blessing!

My blog however has suffered a bit, and I intend to make up for that starting today!

My layout share today features more of the Echo Park Splash collection.

With the way we love the beach, and all the orange, this was a must have line for me!

The journaling reads: "Playing in the sand at the beach is one of the things you boys love to do best! You build castles, dig holes, fill motes with water, and get sand all over yourselves! I’m glad we live close enough to the beach that you boys can do this often! March 2010"

Thanks for stopping by!

Brand madness!

2011-07-18T07:43:00.000-05:00

A little plea for help today!

For the past month, Creative Memories has been competing in an online Brand Madness Tournament sponsored by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal to find the favorite Minnesota brand.

Much like a March Madness-style tournament, the online competition started with 64 Minnesota-based companies, and now it is down to the final two: Creative Memories and the Mayo Clinic. Throughout each round, we have been counting on our passionate and loyal fans to vote us into the next round, and the championship round will be no exception.

Voting for the championship round is scheduled to start Monday morning, ending at 9 pm Ct on Wednesday night. Since social media has played a huge role in getting us this far, we are using every angle we can to capture as many votes as possible. We would like to ask you to help us spread the word to promote the contest through your blog and round up as many votes as you can.

Background on the contest

Creative Memories has been called everything from the giant-killer (beating Target in Round 1) to the least-known brand in the tournament, but throughout the contest we have held an average of 72 percent of the vote in our rounds. Below is how we fared in each round.

Round 1: Creative Memories 81, Target 19

Round 2: Creative Memories 69, Arctic Cat 31

Sweet 16: Creative Memories 82, Wheaties 18

Elite Eight: Creative Memories 62, Mall of America 38

Final Four: Creative Memories 52, Dairy Queen 48 (More than 24,000 votes cast)

Championship: Creative Memories vs. Mayo Clinic (Results announced Wednesday)

The Mayo Clinic, based in Rochester, Minn., has been receiving an average of 68.5 percent of the vote in their match-ups. The number of votes Mayo has been getting has been growing by big multiples with each match, and we expect the final match to grow even more. Below is how Mayo did in each round.

Round 1: Mayo Clinic 86 percent, Tastefully Simple 14 percent

Round 2: Mayo Clinic 61, Summit Brewing 39

Sweet 16: Mayo Clinic 72, General Mills 28

Elite Eight: Mayo Clinic 55, Lunds/Byerly’s 45

Final Four: May Clinic 62, Schwan’s 38 (Nearly 80,000 votes cast)

Championship: Creative Memories vs. Mayo Clinic (Results announced Wednesday)

We would love and appreciate any help we can get in our attempt to beat this well-known hospital. Follow the link below to vote starting Monday. Thank you!

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/feature/mn-brand-madness-landing-page.html

Upside Down Blake

2011-07-13T06:16:00.001-05:00

Oh how we love our Blake! He is our high energy, loud, rough and tumble, all boy, kid! He makes every day more fun just by being himself and we love having him in our family. We can also really, really eat! He must have his father's metabolism because he is always hungry!

Hungry Boy

This layout uses Studio Calico's State Fair line and some Crate Paper Toy Box embellishments. The journaling reads:

"We joke Blake that your stomach is a bottomless pit, but in truth it really must be! All day long I hear you say, “I’m hungry,” “Is it lunch time yet?” or “Can I have a snack?” I know now that about an hour after any meal you start asking about snacks and when the next meal will start. I have no idea how you can pack away all the food that you do and still want more! It must have something to do with being a boy and the energy you expend all day long! What worries me most is how much you may be eating when you are a teenager—the grocery bills are going to be high I think!"

Thanks for visiting today!

Another June Scrapbook.com Layout To Share

2011-07-06T06:59:00.016-05:00

Drive by post today! Just a quick share of a layout I did in June for Scrapbook.com. It uses some super fun new Echo Park Splash.

Sweet Summertime

The journaling reads: "Lately you Spencer, have spent a lot of time in the sprinkler! On this day we were watering the back lawn and you boys decided to take an impromptu run through the water. Stripping off your shirts you boys ran in continuous circles up and down the slide and through the jets of water. I think you all had a good time, but you Spencer seemed to enjoy it most of all! May 2011"

Hope you are having a great summer!

June Scrapbook.com Layout To Share

2011-06-29T09:55:00.001-05:00

These past few weeks have been such a whirlwind of activity around here! Cub and Scout camp, swim lessons, birthday's and father's day, relaxing at the pool, a summer block party, finally having Marc off for some vacation time, two major projects for me, and lots of driving the kids all over for various things! Things finally slowed down a bit this week and I had some time to do my June Scrapbook.com layouts. I'm sharing one of my favorites today, The Baby Song.

It uses some very fun new Kaiser Craft called Party Animal. I adored the colors in this line and the super cute little animals. The journaling on this one reads:

One afternoon back in 2006 or 2007, I was putting you Blake, down for a nap and you were very sad about it. You were crying and after a few minutes I came to see if I could help you calm down and go to sleep. When I asked if I should sing to you, you eagerly said yes! We had recently been watching Dumbo so I choose the lullaby from that movie. You instantly calmed right down and settled in for your nap. Ever since that afternoon I would sing that song when you needed comfort or to be settled down. You loved hearing the words of that song and would ask for “the baby song” all the time when you were upset. Now you are too old for that to work Blake, but every time I hear that song I think back to you at that age and all the tender moments we shared while I sang this song to you, stroked your hair, and watched as you fell asleep. (Photo 2006, journaling 2011)

I also wanted to mention that Pebbles is having their annual Design Team Call! This has been such a fun company to design for--so generous and the team is so well managed by the super sweet Lynn Ghahary. Working with them this past year has been a true delight! You can find out more details on their blog.

Thanks for visiting today!

Hi! Yes, I am still here!

2011-06-15T11:13:00.000-05:00

Yup--still here! I just had to give my self permission to take a short blogging break! I had so many things on my plate for a few weeks, things have been so busy! Anyhow, that's why I decided to put my blog on the back burner for a bit. Sorry to those who have said they keep checking in here and finding nothing new!

Today I have a look for you at some simple Father's Day cards I made for the Pebbles Blog:

These cards use my new favorite punch--Postage Stamp Place 'n' Punch from Creative Memories. I adore this punch--it's so versatile and cute and you can punch anywhere on your page! I love that feature and wish more punches did that!

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Spencer's Duck Face

2011-05-26T11:26:00.000-05:00

As promised, more Hello Sunshine today on another of my May layouts for Scrapbook.com.

Your Silly Duck Face

The journaling reads: "At least once a day I find you Spencer with your lips pursed like this! I call them your duck lips and even though I have no idea why you pull this expression so often, I do know that it always makes me smile! May 2011"

Gotta run today, lots to do! Have a good one!

Plenty of Sunshine Here

2011-05-25T09:59:00.001-05:00

In paper and in reality! We have had so little rain it is really beginning to be quite hard on the lawn and landscape. We water and water, but it is just soooooo dry! It does make nice weather for playing outside though, and we have done lots of that, and hope to do more when Ty starts to get a bit better.

As for paper sunshine, here is a May scrapbook.com layout using American Crafts' very fun, bright, and playful collection Hello Sunshine.

Piggyback Rides:

The journaling on this one reads: "Ty takes such good care of you Spencer! One of the things he does for you is give you piggy back rides. He loves to pick you up run around the house or yard with you on his back. You laugh and squeal with delight and hug his neck, and I smile every time I see this manifestation of his love for you! May 2011"

Ty really does do this all the time, and I'm glad I finally got out the camera and got some photos of it. It really is cute to see what a tender heart Ty has for Spencer. He is a great big brother!

Another Hello Sunshine layout tomorrow!

Have a great Wednesday!

More Campy Trails...

2011-05-24T08:25:00.000-05:00

Well I thought things were more or less back to normal, but I was wrong :) Poor Ty has really been struggling with allergies and asthma lately. We been to the Dr. a few times trying to figure out what to do to help him, and he's now on a whole bunch of medications/breathing treatments and he is home from school for a bit trying to rest up. He is bummed to be missing some of the last days of school, which are normally much more fun than other days. Hopefully though the rest and medication will help stop the endless coughing that is keeping us up at night and make it so he can enjoy being outside again soon!

Anyhow, before all this started we were able to spend lots of time outside and even do some camping! So I thought I'd put American Crafts' Campy Trails line back to work for some May Scrapbook.com layouts with a true camping theme.

Little Naturalist

The journaling on this one reads: "Spencer, I loved watching you during our last camping trip! You were fascinated by the small ant holes around the campsite. It was a pretty common site to see you squatting or lying down right over their holes so you could watch them move in and out. Thankfully, these ants were not fire ants, and you never had a problem with them biting you! April 2011"

Camping Entertainment

The journaling on this one reads: "Camping at the beach gave us lots of extra things to do during our last trip; however, we still found time to partake in the usual camping entertainment as well. We flew kites, took bike rides, played horseshoes, explored the state park, and sang campfire songs while roasting marshmallows. It was a really fun and relaxing trip! April 2011"

Tomorrow I'll have some "Hello Sunshine" for you!

Have a great day!

New Pebbles Card

2011-05-14T07:13:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, sorry for the long absence! We have been sick around here and busy with some projects that I just couldn't share. I'm hoping to finally shake this lingering cold this weekend as it has been driving me crazy all week. Not enough to really slow me down too much, but enough to be really annoying!

Anyhow, now that blogger also seems to be working again, here is a little card I made for my Mom that went up on the Pebbles blog this past week.

It's a simple one, using their Happy Go Lucky line, but I had fun putting it together!

Hopefully I'm back now to a more regular blogging schedule! Have a happy weekend everyone!

Spooktacular

2011-05-04T07:33:00.000-05:00

Yes, it is waaaaaay to early for Halloween, but not so in magazine land so I whipped up this fun little card using my Cricut and the totally adorable Mini Monsters Cartridge. For someone who loves Halloween as much as I do, this cartridge is perfect. My mom and I have already started cooking up some fun home decor plans with the images we can cut with this cartridge.

The papers here are from American Crafts' Campy Trails line. I adore the colors in this line and even though we love to camp and I really need to scrapbook some camping photos with this line, somehow they keep creeping into lots of my other projects as well! Good thing I ordered lots! :) Anyhow, I also used my Creative Memories Reminisce Accents cartridge to cut the orange lattice work for the roof. It just felt like it needed a little something more up there!

And on a side note, have you discovered Pinterest yet?! I think I may be in love! I've had so much fun browsing and pinning there...and discovered so many inspiring and simply cool ideas! I'm not sure how I ever surfed the web without it before! Email me if you want an invite!

Have a great day everyone!

Romp, Chomp, and Stomp

2011-05-02T11:41:00.000-05:00

This week on the Pebbles blog they are showcasing layouts and projects made by mixing the great Pebbles lines with lines from their parent company American Crafts. I had a lot of fun with my project, some dinosaurs for Ty's bedroom wall. He has been after me to help him get some dinosaurs up on his wall ever since we let him have his own room last summer. Once I stumbled across these adorable dinosaur SVG files at Lettering Delights I knew I finally had a great way to get some fun ones made!

These papers are a mix of Happy Go Lucky, Hello Sunshine, Ever After, and Campy Trails. I used my Cricut to not only cut the dinosaurs but the little captions as well (The caption font is SS Whimsy). Be sure and check out the other great American Crafts/Pebbles projects all this week on the Pebbles blog!

Have a happy Monday!

Another Friday Flashback

2011-04-29T09:04:00.000-05:00

Busy, busy day today (another wedding to photograph--yay!) so I'll keep this flashback short and sweet!

Today I have two layouts from the November 2008 Scrapbook Trends to re-post. Their both of Spencer's baby days and the one about his lashes has one of my favorite photos of him on it! I have always loved how long and sweet his lashes are!

Your Long Lashes

Sweet Slumber

Thanks for stopping by today and have a fabulous weekend everyone!

Older Photos, New Layout

2011-04-28T07:46:00.000-05:00

I've had these photos sitting around waiting to be scrapbooked forever. But they weren't really the best photos even though they told a story I really wanted to remember. They were shadowy, had red eye problems, and were underexposed. Thankfully a little digital photo enhancing helped remove a lot of those problems and I finally got them printed and scrapbooked. These photos are from six years ago when my oldest had his first desire to dress himself. It didn't go quite as planned, but it was cute all the same. I turned it into my last Scrapbook.com layout for April.

Mr. Independent

I fell in love with the dinosaurs in this new line (Mr. Boy) by Bella Blvd. Ty just LOVED dinosaurs at this age! Matter of fact he still like them quite a lot :) Anyhow, here is the journaling: "These photos show you Ty, on the day you decided you were big enough to dress yourself. The only problem was you picked Blake’s baby clothes to try and wear. That didn’t go so well and after getting a bit stuck; you came to me for help. You wouldn’t let me put bigger clothes on you but eventually you found a way to wear the baby clothes. You so were very proud of yourself, I had to take a picture! 2005"

Thanks for visiting today!

At Least One of My Boys Has All His Birthday's Scrapbooked....

2011-04-27T07:40:00.000-05:00

Of course he's only had four of them, but I have finished them all! Ty and Blake...well they both have some of them scrapbooked! I've really got to do better on their birthdays as well though. For some reason scrapbooking birthdays is hard for me though! I think it is the number of photos I have from their parties with friends. Spencer hasn't had a "friend" party yet....just family.

Anyhow, here is his fourth birthday (and another of my April Scrapbook.com layouts).

The papers here are from the very cute Spotted Owl Soup birthday line by Jillibean Soup. The journaling reads: "Brownies, presents, your favorite foods, grandparents, family, and lots of Lego Cars to play with. I think that must have made it a perfect birthday for you Spencer! We just loved celebrating your 4th birthday with you! Dec. 2010"

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I Have A New Toy...

2011-04-26T07:30:00.002-05:00

So about eight or nine months ago I bought my first Cricut machine. It was the Create and I loved it! Used it a whole bunch and pretty soon wondered why I put off picking one up for soooooooo long! :) When I got it I thought I'd never need the larger sized Expression as I just couldn't see myself using super large die-cuts... 6"x12" seemed pretty big at the time...well............

I was wrong!

It's amazing just what this machine is capable of and before long I decided to upgrade. I found a great deal on a refurbished Expression for $100 here and spent the last couple of days playing around with and falling in love with the larger size! Here is one of the projects I made.

This little gift bag was cut with the Plantin Schoolbook Cartridge, and the stork/flowers/and circles were cut with the Stork's Delivery Cartridge by Creative Memories. The papers are a mixture of various Pebbles papers from their Ever After, New Arrival Girl, and Tree House lines. Cutting that bag out without the larger machine would have been impossible! I'm loving the possibilities that this introduces!

Thanks for letting me share my excitement! Enjoy your Tuesday!

A Future Cowboy at Our House

2011-04-25T07:11:00.000-05:00

This was Blake's first year participating in his school's annual hoedown as a student. He has come to be a part of Ty's hoe-down before, but he really got excited about having his turn to learn the dances and routines. Dressing up was also exciting to him and showing off his moves to his grandparents and me was his favorite part of it all.

Future Cowboy

This layout for Scrapbook.com is made with new lines by Cosmo Cricket. A few papers from Upcycle, Salt Air, and Social Club seemed to be made for each other so I did something I rarely do and used more than 1 line on a layout. I think I may have to try it more often! I based this layout on this fun sketch from the Studio Calico blog.

The journaling on this layout reads: What fun it was to go watch your first hoedown Blake! You had worked so hard to learn the dances and had so much fun performing them! Your grandparents and I loved coming to the school to see you do your line dances and routines. Clearly you were thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to be a “cowboy” today!

More scrapbook.com layouts to come this week!

Thanks for visiting!

Count Your Blessings

2011-04-22T09:37:00.006-05:00

Hi everyone, I just wanted to quickly share a little something that I made for the Pebbles blog today! This little wall hanging was made with their Happy Go Lucky line and was really fun and easy to make thanks to the pre-made chipboard flowers in this line.

The opening in the frame (from the dollar store) is about 12"x6" which make it really easy to just cut a 12"x12" paper in half and add it as a background.

It was a black frame at first, but some white spray paint fixed that. :)

I cut the title out with my Cricut and the new Creative Memories Stork's Delivery cartridge--can't get enough of that cartridge!

Anyhow, be sure and check out this project and all the other beautiful projects on the Pebbles blog today!

Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!

Bubble Beards

2011-04-21T07:35:00.000-05:00

Do your kids do this? Take a bubble bath and spend their time figuring out what they will look like in their old age? Well that's what mine do and I decided to scrapbook it! This is one of my April layouts for Scrapbook.com this month and it features Studio Calico's new Countryside line.

The Journaling reads:

Bath time always seems to be filled with lots of laughter from you three boys, but no more so than this past week when I found you brothers giggeling in delight at the “bubble beards” you were giving yourselves! It made me laugh to see such a simple thing bringing peals of laughter all the way down the stairs. April 2011

Have a great day everyone!

Win Some Brand New Pebbles

2011-04-19T09:22:00.000-05:00

Pebbles is releasing a fabulous spring mid-release called Floral Lane! It is beautiful and I'm very excited to get my hands on some and play with it! You can check out more pictures of this line on the Pebbles blog, and be sure and leave a comment there to have a chance to win some for yourself!

I'm wrapping up my Queen and Co. board program layouts right now, but I'll be back with a whole bunch of new Scrapbook.com layouts in the next fews day! Have a great day everyone!

Some Creative Memories Projects to Share

2011-04-13T09:14:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday! Whew, halfway through the week already! It's been a fun one here so far, I'm working my way through another set of Queen and Co. board program layouts, so that has tied up a lot of my creative time, but I've also been enjoying driving the new car we bought last week, and planning a beach camping trip with my parents. Should be a lot of fun! :)

Today I just wanted to share some recently completed layouts and a card I did for the Creative Memories blog and project center.

I *heart* your Baby Fat

This layout of Spencer uses one of my favorite photos of him and that pacifer he loved so much! It uses a mixture of Creative Memories new adorable Rugged Baby Boy papers and embellishments, and their new line "Fabulous", plus a little bit of work with their new Cricut cartridge (that I am completely in love with!), Stork's Delivery.

Rugged Baby Boy line:

These use their new "Cheerful" line, along with more work with the Stork's Delivery Cricut cartridge--great for more than just baby layouts! Oh, and these new lines come in digital too if you are interested!

Got to run today! Lots and lots to accomplish! :) Thanks for visiting!

Swing Buddies

2011-04-11T09:37:00.000-05:00

A little something digital today! I bought some awesome digital kits and templates a few months ago, but haven't had much time to play with them. I made up for that a little over the weekend and came up with this.

Swing Buddies

The journaling reads: "Just as the school year ended and Dad headed out to scout camp, I got really, really, sick with something like the flu. I had very little energy and spent most of two or three days sitting on the couch downstairs trying to care for you three boys. One of the only good moments of those few days was looking out the window and watching Ty and Blake playing together. Ty was pushing Blake on the swing and then jumping on his back to join him in the ride. They were both giggling and laughing so hard...despite how sick I felt, I found my self laughing too--and running for the camera of course! June 2009"

This is the digi kit I used, Brotherly Love, by Kristin Cronin-Barrow and Meghan Mullens, super cute huh? :)

And I used this very fun template by Cindy Schneider

I love that Cindy now includes a .page file with her templates making them compatible (and very easy to use) with Storybook Creator Plus 3.0--my favorite digital scrapbooking software, so simple to use and worth every penny! I moved things around a bit, but overall stuck pretty close to the original.

Anyhow, that's it for today! Happy Monday everyone!

Flash Back Time Again!

2011-04-08T15:02:00.000-05:00

Since I'm late in the day posting this I'll try to make it extra special! Here is a layout I've never posted anywhere, even before it was published--so I'm not re-posting it, just finally able to get it up online! It was in the very first Cricut Magazine from Jan 2011.

You Love To Pretend

I used some of my favorite My Mind's Eye papers here, paired with the Creative Memories Cheerful Seasons Cricut cartridge (sub-title) and the Creative Memories Reminisce Accents cartridge (border). The journaling reads:

"All three of you boys love Grandpa’s hat and frequently wear it when he comes to visit. This particular visit was on a Sunday after church. You Blake, took a turn wearing his hat and promptly took off running around the room and declared that you were now “ Indiana Jones!” And in your Sunday best, you truly looked the part of your Lego game hero! 7/12/09"

Also, be sure and leave a comment on the Pebbles Blog today so you have a chance to win your favorite line from their new collections!

Have a great day!

Winner, Winner!

2011-04-05T09:51:00.000-05:00

Well random.org picked Comment #3 so congrats Jamie Lane Cripps!!! Please email me your address and I'll send out your Queen and Company prize! :)

Not much to share today so I thought I'd just post a simple card I made with some older Pebbles papers. These papers are from their super cute Twitterpated line, and the stamp is by Imaginisce.

Thanks for stopping by!

Daddy Daughter Dance

2011-04-04T09:27:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone--I hope you had a fabulous weekend! We spent ours enjoying the nice weather with some landscaping projects, a walk at a nature preserve, listening to conference, reading books and playing board games together as a family. It was one of the best weekends we have had in a long time mostly because of the lack of extra stuff preventing us from just hanging out together as a family. It was wonderful!

Today I wanted to share a layout that went up on the Pebbles blog this morning featuring their Happy Go Lucky and Ever After lines mixed together. It's about a rare chance I had to dance with my Dad during a cruise we took last Thanksgiving.

Daddy Daughter Dance

The journaling reads: "One of my favorite moments from this cruise was having an opportunity to dance with my dad. It was a bit of an impromptu moment as they had just cleared the lounge chairs off the deck and some fun oldies songs were being played over the speakers. No one else was dancing but these moments are so few and rare, I grabbed his hand and asked him to dance with me. We Cha-chaed across the deck and had a blast doing so. Thankfully I left Marc with the camera and he snapped a few photos of this tender moment. Nov 2010"

Be sure and stop by the Pebbles blog to check out the other awesome layouts from the design team mixing and matching the new Pebbles lines today!

Also this weekend I started working on a new project for my grandma. She lives several hundred miles away and I don't get to see her much. She loves to hear about my family and what we are up to, and I figured one of the best ways for her to know how we are is to share my layouts with her. I decided that I would make her a photo book of some recent layouts so she would know more about my boys and what this crazy family of mine was up to. I'll send it to her before we come up to visit her this summer so hopefully she can get to know my boys even better before our visit!

This meant re-photographing my layouts so that I have hi-resolution copies of them for the book. A time consuming, but necessary step. I find that I have some comfort in knowing I have hi resolution copies for myself too. I think I'll burn them to a CD and take them over to my parent’s house as a back up in case anything should ever happen to the original layouts. I would hate to lose the originals; however, knowing I could just print up a few photo books and replace them is a nice thought :)

Here is a peek at some of the thumbnails of what is going in the book:

I still have lots more to go, but hopefully I'll get it wrapped up in a day or two!

Thanks for stopping by! Oh, and don't forget my giveaway from a couple of posts down. I'll close that out later tonight and get a winner posted in the morning :) Have a great Monday!

Friday Flashback Again

2011-04-01T09:26:00.000-05:00

So sorry I missed posting a flashback last week, it was just a busy day! I decided today that I'd post two previously published layouts to make up for it though! :)

First up is one from the June 2010 issue of Scrapbook Trends featuring one of my favorite lines from Sassafras Lass, Monstrosity.

Today You Were A Little Monster

The photo is from awhile back of Spencer telling me "no-no!" It seeded to fit this page well.

Journaling Reads: Today, well actually, for the past few weeks you have been quite a handful Spencer; getting into everything, breaking things, spilling things, taking off your diaper and having accidents, etc. Today was just the day that you decorated the carpet in my craft room in lovely multi-colored ink blots. But really that is nothing, in fact I'm smiling about it. I mean it just adds to the huge silver paint and walnut ink stain you left on that carpet about 2 weeks ago. Never mind that you striped all my ink pads off their bases and tore them apart, never mind that you ruined 2 sets of clothes, never mind that your hands may be permanently stained to look make you look like a Picasso. At least we have a permanent reminder of your exploration into art. Groan. Well, it's a good thing you are so cute Spencer, it has saved you from a lot of trouble during your "monster moments" lately! --December 2009"

And another one featuring Spencer from the April 2010 Scrapbook Trends. The papers here are by Cosmo Cricket and the embellishments/letters are by Queen and Company. I love that I got 9 birthday photos on this rather simple page!

The Journaling reads: "We were in Lubbock for your 2nd birthday Spencer, and you got to spend the day with lots of family. You loved playing with your cousins, eating cake and ice cream, and of course playing with all your new toys (which included a lot of little people). I enjoyed watching you have so much fun, yet I also saw just how much you have grown. You have truly left the baby behind and become a very cute little boy. December 2009"

And as a side note, Pebbles has a give away on their blog today for the Mr. and Mrs. line. Be sure and stop over at their blog and leave a comment for a chance to win it!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone--and don't forget to comment on the post below for a chance at my Queen and Company giveaway!

Have you seen these anywhere? (Give Away Too!)

2011-03-31T09:52:00.001-05:00

So, a little over a week ago my life was consumed with making massive amounts of each of these layouts and a whole lot of matching cards to go with them. Why? For the Queen and Company retail stores. If your local store ordered the full line of Queen and Company's 2011 Magic Millennium release these should be showing up as a display right about now!

I believe some of those stores will also be teaching these layouts as a Disney class. So check out your local scrapbook store to see if they have them! And if not--you are in luck anyhow, as I am giving away some of the leftover supplies from creating all these layouts/cards.

Disclaimer here--these are papers that are not full sheets--these are leftovers from what I used to make all the sets of the above layouts; however, many papers are pretty nearly complete and those are the ones I'm giving away. There are also some of the new mini felt borders, some almost full sheets of rhinestones, and some of the new super cute buttons. Plus I'm adding some ribbon and some almost full mini and circle alpha sheets. Over all it's a pretty good amount of stuff for some lucky blog reader who likes Disney themed supplies! If you'd like to win it, just leave a comment and I'll pick a random winner on Monday and ship if off to them! (An international winner would pay their own shipping).

Have a great day everyone!

Last Layout Featuring Toy Box...

2011-03-30T10:32:00.000-05:00

...for now at least :) I have loved playing with this line and I'm sure I'll come back to it! One of the main perks of buying the collection pack is having two of each paper--which is why I have some left!

Anyhow, here is my last layout for Scrapbook.com for March.

It's a Middle Child Thing

These photos were from a trip we took last month to the Dallas area, where we met up with some family from Lubbock. We had a great time exploring the Ft. Worth Stockyards together, including eating at this fabulous BBQ place. The pickles they served with the kid’s meals provided endless entertainment for these two cousins :) Myself, I preferred the deep fried pickle chips--which were excellent! Gotta go back for those!

The journaling reads: "Is being extra silly a middle child thing? Well it was on our trip to Ft. Worth last month! You Blake and your cousin Sara had a lot of fun making faces at lunch with these giant pickles in your mouths! The two of you are quite a pair! Feb 2011"

I took quite a lot of photos during our day there, so I'm sure there will be more layouts to come from this trip!

Have a fabulous day!

Derby Time

2011-03-29T08:48:00.000-05:00

These photos have been sitting out on my desk for a couple of months now waiting for the right papers to scrapbook them. Then along came Crate Paper's new Toy Box line and I knew it was perfect! I love the bright colors along with the boy toy theme--just the kind of thing a mom of three little boys needs! I have lots of this line left so I'm sure I'll pull it out to scrapbook some more layouts soon!

The Journaling reads: "Daddy, Grandpa, and you Ty, spent a lot of time on your Pinewood Derby car this year. You learned a lot from your first derby last year and you put that knowledge to good use! You won many races, finally losing to the car that took third place. Considering how many other cars that were there, you earned a really good placement! I was proud of you for cheering on your friends and learning how to be happy for them even if you lost. In the end you had a good time and ended up with the award for the fastest looking car! Jan 2011"

Have a great day everyone! :)

New Mr. and Mrs.

2011-03-28T08:53:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a good weekend! We had a super busy one and I'm actually kind of glad it is over! Sometimes weekday are better--at least if the to-do list is shorter!

Today I have a little something with the new Mr. and Mrs. line from Pebbles that went up on their blog today :) You might remember these photos as a few that I took during my cousin's wedding from a couple of posts ago.

Finally Married

The journaling reads: "While waiting for Heather and Tyson’s wedding to start, Heather’s grandpa said “If
she goes through with it, I’m going to pass out!” We all had a good chuckle, but the truth was we were all holding our breath a bit till it was over! We knew Heather had picked out a wonderful guy, but that she was also still a little bit frightened of the commitment. Thankfully she did say yes, and they are now happily married!"

Have a happy Monday everyone!

Happy Go Lucky

2011-03-24T08:03:00.001-05:00

I totally adore this new collection from Pebbles! Great combos of bright colors, fabulous embellishments and just enough orange to make me happy :)

Here is a layout I did with this collection that went up on the Pebbles blog today.

3 Little Pigs

Journaling Reads:

Recently we took you boys to spend the day at the Houston Rodeo. While there we piled into a big white tent and had a great time cheering on hog #4 in the pig races! As we got seated, Grandma Williams bought each of you boys these cute little noses to wear. All three of you loved them and wore them not only for the pig races, but for a good part of the afternoon as well! They made for a very fun rodeo souvenir! March 16^th 2011

Other than the Happy Go Lucky Line, I also used one of my favorite punches, the puzzle punch from Creative Memories, and some SRM clear stickers.

Thanks for visiting today!

Carnival Rides

2011-03-22T08:31:00.000-05:00

I mentioned that we had a great time during spring break at the Houston Rodeo, and we did--despite the crazy amounts of people there! We loved riding the carnival rides with the kids and I even managed to snap a few photos through the throngs of people. Here is the resulting layout I did for Scrapbook.com.

It uses the very bright and fun new collection from Basic Grey, "Life of the Party" and is based on a sketch by Zarah Peterson. The Journaling reads: "We have always loved rides in this family, and while visiting the rodeo we had a great time picking out some to go on. We even got Grandpa and Grandma Williams to join us on a few! Screaming, twirling, and riding in the twisting scrambler with you boys was my favorite part of the day!"

Have a great day everyone!

That Winky Smile

2011-03-21T05:59:00.000-05:00

Good Monday morning! We are just ending a wonderful Spring break here and I'm sad to see it go! My in-laws drove down to see us and we had a wonderful visit with them! We were able to show and explore with them the many fun tourist spots around town--including NASA, the Bluebell factory, and the extremely crowded Houston Rodeo. The boys certainly didn't want their break to end, but it's back to school today!

Over the break I got a few layouts done for Scrapbook.com, including this layout about Blake and his Winky Smile:

I've scrapbooked this photo before...sadly though, it went to CHA and never made it home, so I re-scrapbooked it! :) The journaling reads: "I’m not sure why you started winking your right eye Blake, but for awhile you did it quite a lot. I even wondered if you needed glasses and had your eye checked. Thankfully, nothing was wrong with it, it turns out it is just one of your fun quirks that I love!"

I'm so glad I have this photo as Blake doesn't really do this much anymore, but it used to be a very frequent site! The papers and embellishments on this layout are from the new Toy Box line from Crate Paper, which was really fun to work with--great colors, patterns, and images just perfect for my little guys! The letter stickers are from Basic Grey's new line, Life Of The Party, and I also used my new cloud punches by Fiskars.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Another Friday Flashback and a New Pebbles Card

2011-03-18T12:38:00.000-05:00

Welcome to another Friday Flashback! Today's layout comes from the 2009 Babies Idea Book by Scrapbook Trends. It features one of my favorite photos of Spencer's tiny feet when he was a newborn.

Mostly the products here are Melissa Frances, but there are also some fun Queen and Co brads and some American Crafts Thickers as well. I still love looking at this layout and remembering just how little he used to be!

Also today, I wanted to share a layout I did for the Pebbles blog with one of their new collections--Ever After.

This collection is so completely adorable--it makes me wish for a little girl to scrapbook. I settled for a little girl card instead today :) If you think this collection is adorable too, you should be sure a leave a comment on this post over at the Pebbles blog for a chance to win some for yourself!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Something a little different today....

2011-03-16T11:23:00.001-05:00

No layouts today. I have a few in the works, but I'm not quite done yet :) I did however, recently finish up these photos from my cousin's wedding. I thought that since it's been forever since I shared any of my photography work, I'd post a handful of my favorite photos from that day.

Isn't her dress stunning? I loved it! After their luncheon we headed out to these beautiful red rock formations near her home in southern Utah. They made a fantastic backdrop!

I almost didn't get to go to her wedding and I'm so glad plans worked out that I could! It was a beautiful event and so fun to photograph!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Friday Flashback

2011-03-11T11:16:00.000-06:00

Welcome to another Friday Flashback!

Today I've selected a few projects that aren't nearly so old as last week's. These projects were published in the Jan 2011 issue of Scrapbook Trends and the first issue (Jan 2011) of Cricut Magazine.

This is another of my favorite layouts! So glad I could put it back up!

The supplies for this layout are:

Patterned Paper, tags, die cut bird, and stickers: My Minds Eye

Cardstock, Puzzle Punch: Creative Memories

Scalloped Circle Punch: EK Success
Buttons: Basic Grey
Brads: Queen and Company
Based on a sketch by Becky Fleck

Journaling Reads: Would you look at that Spencer! You piled every blanket you could find up on top of your toddler bed—and there you are at the very top of the huge pile taking a nap. I laughed so hard when I saw this. I affectionately call these photos your Prince and the Pea photos, as it looks like you have an extra need for softness! You can be so cute Spencer! January 17th 2010

And these fun cards feature Pebbles papers,

and more My Mind's Eye papers:

and the fabulous Creative Memories Cricut cartridges Cheerful Seasons and Reminisce Accents.

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great weekend!

A couple more cards...

2011-03-08T07:31:00.001-06:00

...with Stork's Delivery. Hope you are not tired of it yet!

I stayed away from the baby theme on this one again, just changing up the colors for a more adult birthday theme. The papers on this card are by My Mind's Eye, and the bling is by Queen and Company. The sentiment was cut using a different Creative Memories Cartridge, Reminisce Accents.

And one last card, again not baby themed, but anniversary this time. This card features the new Mr. and Mrs. line from Pebbles, which is full of lots of great wedding themed products!

That's it for today! Have a great Tuesday everyone!

More Stork's Delivery Cards!

2011-03-07T08:34:00.003-06:00

I told you before that this new Cricut cartridge from Creative Memories was really fun and that it had lots of super cute little animals on it, and today I have a better look at some of them for you!

This baby girl card features the new Pebbles line "Happy Go Lucky" I love the bright happy colors in this collection and of course, all the orange. The little animals were cut out to be around 1 1/4" in size and even though it was a little tricky to cut them out so small, I loved how the card turned out!

I decided to do a non-baby themed card as well with the beautiful flower images, and one of the tag images on this cartridge:

The papers on this card are Dill Blossom by SEI. An older set of papers, but one of my favorites from SEI. The rub-on is by Melissa Frances and the buttons are Jenni Bowlin and Making Memories.

More cards soon!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Friday Flashback...

2011-03-04T09:02:00.002-06:00

I've decided to try something new on my blog! I've been really bad at re-posting layouts (and projects) that have been published, and for the most part, these are my favorite layouts that I do really want to show on my blog! So I decided that on Fridays I'm going to pick one or maybe more published projects to post as a "Friday Flashback." A warning--some of them are several years old therefore "flashback" seemes appropriate. :) There are some older papers, techniques, and styles here! Which hopefully, just makes "Friday Flashbacks" more fun!

Today's first flashback is one of my most favorite layouts:

Scrapbook Trends
Babies 2007
"Completely Smitten"
Pg. 103

I just love everything about this layout! From the photo (Spencer was 1 week old and sooooo tiny), to the papers (Crate Paper), to the little word art circle I made myself, to the journaling, which reads:

"You are only 1 week old Spencer, and already I can't imagine life without you! I'm already attached to your sweet little cry, your soft cheeks, your head of beautiful light brown hair, and your handsome little face. I guess you could say I'm smitten! I love you Spencer! Welcome to our family! --Dec 31st 2006"

And also a really old layout, my first ever published in fact; from the Paperkuts (anyone remember that magazine?) Readers Showcase published in 2004. Yes, this was the layout that started it all, it was the first layout I ever submitted to a magazine and I couldn't believe it when it was selected for publication! I screamed, danced around the room, and had to call my scrapbook friend Amy, who was the only person I knew back then who would understand my excitement!

Paperkuts

Readers Showcase 2004

"Leaves Are Falling"

Pg. 93

This was back at the height of the fibers/metal rimmed tag/realistic stickers/eyelets/hidden journaling trend of scrapbooking. And even though I'm glad many of those trends are over, I still love this layout. Mostly because of those sweet photos, but also because I thankfully didn't go too overboard with any one of those trends! Haha!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed the flashback!

Creative Memories' New Cricut Cartridge...

2011-03-03T10:27:00.005-06:00

....Stork's Delivery, has soooooo many super cute images!

I'm having fun working with them in the hopes of having a few things picked up for the new Cricut Magazine. One of my favorite images is this adorable giraffe:

He was so adorable that I had to cut him out right away! I'm working on a few other projects that feature the other very sweet animals in this cartridge! Hopefully I'll have time to share them soon!

Have a great Thursday!

P.S. There is a fun giveaway of Pebbles' adorable chipboard up on their blog today...head on over and leave a comment for a chance to win some!

I Love The Tree House....

2011-03-01T08:42:00.002-06:00

....line from Pebbles! Super cute patterns and the colors are so very bright and cheerful! Right up my alley! I did this layout with them for the Pebbles blog. It's about the day a few years back that I found Spencer sitting on the couch trying to figure out his brother's Legos after spending an afternoon watching them play with them. He is always trying to do everything they do! Sometimes that's good, and sometimes that's bad! LOL! This time it was cute :)

Little Copycat

The journaling reads:

Spencer, you are always trying to imitate your big brothers! On this day they left out their Legos and you went right to work trying to put them together as you had seen them do earlier. Your hands didn’t yet have the strength required to push the blocks together, but that didn’t stop you from trying! You sat on the couch for the longest time, determined to figure it out! I thought it was adorable to see how quickly you learned just by watching your brothers! May 8^th ‘08

Don't you just love that font? It one of my current favorites called Pea Alicia Script from: http://kevinandamanda.com/fonts/fontsforpeas/pea-alicia/

Thanks for visiting today!

Confetti time!

2011-02-28T07:06:00.000-06:00

Confetti was the other American Craft line I choose to work with for my February assignments at Scrapbook.com. A very fun line full of great birthday motifs! I finished up scrapbooking Spencer's first birthday with it!

A few months ago I did a page about him digging into his first birthday cake, but I still wanted a layout of him figuring out how to open presents and explore what it means to have toys that were just for him!

Happy Monday everyone!

Campy Trails #3

2011-02-25T09:29:00.002-06:00

Quick post today...my to do list is a mile long :)

This was the last Campy Trails layout I did, and pretty much the last of the papers too. I'm already getting ready an order for more as these were really fun to work with!

This layout was something I've put off for a long time. It's a more or less a traditional topic to scrapbook when it comes to baby pages, but with Spencer losing all his first words and becoming non-verbal, it became a bit of a tender topic. It pulled on my heart strings when I thought about scrapbooking it, but still, I wanted to remember those sweet few months when he did have words and what they were.

I'm most proud of the fact that "mama" was his first and most used word--at least until "snack" came along :) I have some video of him saying "mama" that I will treasure forever!

Thanks for stopping by today! And have a great weekend!

More Campy Trails...

2011-02-24T09:02:00.002-06:00

...just as promised! This layout uses a photo I love and one I've scrapbooked before, however, that layout went to CHA and never came back. I figured it was time to re-scrapbook it since I love it so :)

It felt right to use it for a layout expressing my thoughts about finding myself a mom to three boys--and no girls. This is something I never thought would happen before I got married. I had plans for at least one daughter, plans like mother/daughter outings, shopping trips, girly clothes, crafting together, chick flicks, hair bows, etc, etc.

Well, those plans are currently on hold for nieces and (hopefully) granddaughters! Still, it's funny how well God's plan for me and our family just...fits...perfectly! In raising my boys I have come to see just how well suited we are for each other! And so I did this layout to document that feeling.

Again, this uses the new Campy Trails line from American Crafts. The large flowers on this were completely inspired by the small flower delights from their Confetti line (I used two of them on this layout, but wanted bigger ones to match):

They don't make these for the Campy Trails line, so I decided to make my own. One of the best things about these new lines from American Crafts is the little thin little patterned strip on the back of the barcode strip (and you can't see them in the images you find online of these papers--but trust me they are awesome). Each paper has a differnet strip on the back and these are perfect for making your own "delights" I just cut two of them up into 4" strips, then folded the ends of each strip into the midde with a little glue to secure them. Then I stacked three of these folded strips together and topped them with a button. Very fast, very easy, very cute! You can see more of the ones I made on the layout from yesterday's post as well.

Oh yeah, the journaling on this layout reads: "I’ll admit with each pregnancy I thought I was having a girl. I always thought I’d have at least one daughter and it really surprised me when I found myself the mother of three boys instead! Still, I can see now just how well suited I am to raising boys, and dealing with their unique challenges….and also how perfectly we fit together as a family! I’m so glad that Heavenly Father knew me better then I did, and sent me you three wonderful boys instead of daughters. He clearly knew we were perfect matches for each other! February 20, 2011"

Have a great day everyone!

Campy Trails...

2011-02-23T07:47:00.003-06:00

...as in the new line from American Crafts that I ordered for my scrapbook.com layouts this month. I love the colors in this line--which should be no surprise as orange is one of the dominant colors in the color scheme ( I *heart* orange). I got it thinking I would scrapbook some of our fun camping trips, however, this line is very versatile and even through I did three layouts with it, none of them ended up being about camping. I'm going to have to order more of this line for those photos :)

This layout ended up being my favorite; it's about all the phrases that Blake constantly uses lately.

Blake-isms

The journaling reads: If only I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard “How do you know?” from you this past year Blake! You are always asking me that every time I answer one of you many daily questions! Another “Blake-ism” we hear all the time comes after we tell you that you are handsome, or creative, or smart; you instantly say “Yes, I know!” Lately you have also become a bit of a brown noser! You are always telling me or other adults that work with you, “You are the best mom/teacher/cook ever!” or that today was “The best day/party/trip/birthday/Christmas ever!” It always makes me smile to hear these phrases that are uniquely you! --Blake age 5-6"

More from this line in upcoming days! Thanks for stopping by today!

Simple Birthday Card

2011-02-17T10:21:00.001-06:00

I did this one in hopes of making it into the upcoming Cricut Birthday Idea Book...I'll cross my fingers that it gets picked up!

I'm loving the "Boys Will Be Boys" cartridge my sweet husband gave me for Christmas. Lots of great images like this fun monster! The present is from the Creative Memories Cheerful Seasons cartridge, and the papers are by Creative Memories as well. Sentiment is a stamp by Heidi Swapp, the jewels are by Queen and Company, and the tiny alpha stickers are by Cosmo Cricket. Ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Pebbles Love Cards

2011-02-10T09:47:00.000-06:00

Well it is freezing again here so I'm hiding out inside and tying up a couple of lose ends on some projects. At least this weather is good for helping me find time to scrapbook--I can't think of much else it's good for! Spring please hurry up!

Okay, enough whining about the weather! Today it's my turn again up on the Pebbles blog! Our theme this week was "Love" and I decided to make a couple of cards for giving away this month:

I had a lot of fun using their adorable Twitterpated line for these projects. Great colors, fabulous patterns, lots of super fun matching embellishments--what more could a girl want?!

There are lots more love themed projects on the Pebbles blog--be sure and stop by and check them out!

Have a great day!

Forgotten Layout

2011-02-07T09:21:00.001-06:00

This poor layout somehow got missed. I meant to post it to my blog a few months ago, but in all the shuffle of life, it somehow never made it. Today I'm making up for that omission!

I did this for Scrapbook.com in November, and the photo may look familiar, I posted here after school started. It is from the first day of school as Ty tossed his arm around his brother and told Blake he would take care of him on his first day of Kindergarten. Such a sweet moment--I had to have a layout of it!

Happy Monday to you all!

Last of my February Nook Kit...

2011-02-02T10:47:00.001-06:00

This time I stuck to working with some boys photos as there were some really great papers in this kit that work well with them too!

These are Ty's friends from last years class. Thankfully a lot of them ended up in his third grade class and he is having a great time with them again this year.

Thanks for stopping by!

Another February Nook Layout

2011-01-31T09:12:00.000-06:00

Another layout done with the very pretty February kit from My Scrapbook Nook:

And another girl layout--and another one with me in the photo! I think this is some kind of record for me :)

Anyhow, it's about my dear, sweet little sister and how much fun we had visiting with her last summer.

The journaling reads: "This photo was from a very fun—albeit short visit with Jessica and Ryan last summer. They were wonderful hosts and we enjoyed getting to know a little bit about the sites and culture of S.C. One of my favorite stops was at a local disc golf course where we spend a hot but delightful evening together—which we finished off with a cute photo of us sisters together."

Have a great day everyone!

I can scrap girls pages if I want to....

2011-01-28T10:22:00.000-06:00

I just don't have a lot of girl photos to scrap :) However, the lovely Feb kit from My Scrapbook Nook was filled with papers that just didn't feel were quite right for the Pinewood Derby :) So I took a different approach and found some photos of me. Yes you read that right, I scrapbooked some photos with me in them--rare I know, but only because it is so much more fun to remember the crazy stuff my boys do..............but I digress.

Here is my first layout with this kit, a little something of me and Becky. Last fall we were together with our kids and we bought them each one of these fake mustaches and we had a ball taking photos of all the cousins playing with them together...and of course, as "the best mom's ever!" (Blake declared it) we had to get in on the action a little bit too.

I Am So Very Glad I Have You As A Friend To Be Goofy With

Now Becky will most likely kill me for posting this, but that's the chance you take when you hang out with me! :) The journaling reads: ""It was a serendipitous set of circumstances that led to us being sisters Becky; however, I’m so very glad it worked out that way! I love having you as my sister-in-law, my friend, and my scrapbooking buddy—not to mention someone to goof off with!"

Have a great day everyone!

Green paint went everywhere.....

2011-01-27T10:16:00.002-06:00

...when we decided to give Ty his own room...not because Ty didn't do a good job painting the accent wall, but because Spencer decided to help out when we thought the door was locked. We ended up with two green walls instead of one, and now we get to repaint Spencer/Blake's room as well :) Oh well, at least he managed not to get it all over the carpet!

Anyhow, here is the layout about it:

Ty is super excited to have his own room--and for the most part he keeps it pretty clean :)

Have a great day everyone--I'm headed out to enjoy some sunshine and warm temps for a change!

Slide Grandma! (i.e. Another Jan Scrapbook.com Layout)

2011-01-26T07:20:00.000-06:00

Oh yes, another Scrapbook.com layout to share today--and one more to go as well. :) This one showcases some fun photos of my mom with Spencer at a local inflatable place. Spencer loves his grandma--and he especially loves that she will play with him just about anywhere--even if it means climbing up a giant inflatable slide a million times!

Journaling reads: "You are so lucky Spencer to have a grandma who loves to indulge your whims! The 2 of you went down this giant slide at the local inflatable playhouse over and over; and each time you Spencer, had the biggest grin! After coming down you would immediately run back to the stairs to do it again all the while checking to be sure grandma was coming along behind you! Grandma certainly got a good work out! "

This layout features more of the Crate Paper School Spirit line paired with some My Mind's Eye Alphabet Soup Chipboard and brads. Also some Jillibean Soup And American Crafts Alphas.

I also wanted to share another Pebbles sneak peek of their new line "Happy Go Lucky."

This is my favorite release from them this show and it is filled to the brim, with awesome new embellishments (only a few are shown on their blog). You can check it out (and maybe win some) on the Pebbles blog.

Have a great day everyone!

Another Jan Scrapbook.com Layout

2011-01-25T07:51:00.001-06:00

Just another little something on Spencer:

Made with some really fun Studio Calico papers and stickers, American Crafts Thickers, plus some My Mind's Eye chipboard shapes and brads.

The journaling reads: "Oh Spencer! You are always trying to do everything your brothers do! The past few months you have been trying to slide down the staircase railing like them and have been frustrated that you couldn’t climb high enough to get on the railing. Imagine my surprise when I caught you this week actually managing to climb up on it! It took a lot of effort, but you were so proud or yourself for managing it! I’m not sure if you found all that work worth the short slide down it, but it was cute to see you so happy that you could do what your brothers do! "

Thanks for coming by today!

One Scrapbook.com Layout to Share Today...

2011-01-24T09:46:00.001-06:00

A little something from our Thanksgiving cruise. This was on Thanksgiving day, and I hope to spend Thanksgiving in this way again sometime!

Believe it or not this line is actually a Halloween line called Monster Soup by Jillibean Soup. I adore the colors in it and can't wait to use the adorable little monsters on some of the other papers soon!

I also want to quickly share a link to the first of the new Pebbles CHA sneak peeks. If you have little princesses at your house you are going to need this adorable new line, Ever After.

Have a good one!

More from the Jan. My Scrapbook Nook Kit

2011-01-21T08:54:00.000-06:00

I have two more layouts to share today with this beautiful kit! I loved the colors in this kit--great for some boy layouts :)

Webkinz Love--about Blake and how much he loved this little Tiger!

A Great Big Belly Laugh--another about Blake and his wonderful big laugh!

Also, My Scrapbook Nook is just getting started with a Virtual Crop this weekend. There are a bunch of gift certificates up for grabs and the grand prize is two complete lines (paper, embellishments, mini paper pads, etc.) of the brand new Cosmo Cricket being released at CHA next week! Now that is my kind of prize! Makes me wish I was eligible for it! You can join in all the fun challenges here!

Have a great day everyone!

Can You Believe it? A Double Pager

2011-01-20T10:40:00.000-06:00

Yes, you read that right...a 2 page layout from me! The Pebbles DT was challenged to do double page layouts this month and this is mine:

It's all about the special quirks that come from raising a special child like Spencer :) He certainly has a lot of them! Here is the journaling:

Spencer you have so many silly quirks at this age! You are constantly making me laugh and smile every time I think about the things that are uniquely you! Here is my list of your top 8 quirks at age 4.

Photo #1 and #4. For some reason you love to cover your ears with your hands. You seem to do it randomly and I’ve yet to figure out why!

Photo #2 You often scrunch up your nose and give us a squinty look as if you can somehow see us better that way! Photo #3 Your love of ketchup knows no bounds! Photo #5 You still randomly give out dirty looks for no apparent reason!

Photo #6 You frequently growl loudly to get attention—startling me and those around you! Photo #7 If you have a coat with a hood on it, the hood must be worn! I’ve tried to put it down so you can see better, but you always immediately put it right back up!

Photo #8 You love to press you nose up against others and look them right in the eye. It makes you giggle and laugh with delight—I think you picked this one up from watching “The Little Mermaid.” Photo #9 You can not walk into the house unless you ring the doorbell first! You do it every time we come home!

All these crazy and silly quirks endear you to me so Spencer! I know some of them are related to your disabilities, but I still wouldn’t change them! You just wouldn’t be you without them! Jan 2011

The Pebbles Cats and Dogs line had the perfect colors for this layout. Be sure and check out lots more awesome double page layouts on the Pebbles blog by other DT members.

Have a great day!

Queen and Company's Winter 2011 CHA Release

2011-01-19T13:01:00.000-06:00

I love designing for Queen and Company! Every show I am always amazed at the marvelous lines Wendy produces. This year was no exception!

I particularly love these new mini borders which are being made out of a new material (no longer felt) and I love that this new material had added texture and is much less prone to stretching after you remove the backing!

And what's not to love about all these great shaped bling designs!

Here are a couple of the cards I made with the new Magic line. They should help you see the awesome texture of the new borders better!

Thanks for letting me share! Hopefully a store near you will carry these lines once they become available...or try scrapbook.com who typically carries their products!

Have a great day everyone!

2 More For Scrapbook.com

2011-01-19T07:41:00.000-06:00

Still a few more with this awesome Echo Park line...this one is about Spencer's affection for any type of hat!

Had a little fun with my Cricut for the title :)

And this one about his love of baggy clothes--especially his dad's or big brother's shirts :)

Thanks for stopping by today!

Scrapbook.com DT work...

2011-01-18T11:58:00.001-06:00

for December....whew...I am behind in posting this! Still I had a lot of fun playing with this line from Echo Park:

A first haircut layout:

And my 3 silly boys:

I also did a Pebbles layout with photos from this same day. It was based on a really awesome sketch featured by Becky Fleck. The other DT members did some really wonderful work with it as well. You can check their work and the sketch out on the Pebbles blog here.

I almost didn't make it...

2011-01-06T21:59:00.000-06:00

... but here it is, actually here they are, two layouts made with the wonderful December kit at My Scrapbook Nook:

This kit was a lot of fun to work with and thankfully I still have some of it left. That will come in handy with the huge amount of photos I took over the holidays!

Have a good one!

Bella Blvd Love

2011-01-05T13:08:00.000-06:00

Today just a quick share of some Bella Blvd projects that went up on their blog over the Holidays. I loved being a guest Artista for them and am sad that it is over!

Gotta run! Need to fix a faucet that broke in the master bathroom!

Have a great Wednesday everyone! Come back tomorrow for more.

Lots More New Layouts Starting Today!

2011-01-04T14:50:00.001-06:00

Finally I have a spare moment to add some recent work! Despite my lack of blogging I did do quite a bit of scrapbooking during December--and that means I'm way behind on posting my work! I think it is time for another "layout a day" until I'm caught up. Sound good?

Okay, today's layout is one of my more recent ones made with the beautiful Jan kit from My Scrapbook Nook:

I have been loving playing with this new line from Fancy Pants! More coming with this kit soon! Let me take a moment and mention that My Scrapbook Nook is currently running a great special! You can check out all the details here: Nook Newsletter

Have a wonderful day everyone!