Manda's Memories

New Year, Fresh Start

2012-01-20T10:23:00.005-05:00

Well, its another new year again. While I'm a little late for posting a New Years post I guess that is kind of what this is. I scrapped for the first time since my car accident back in October yesterday and man did it feel good. The pages are still a bit on the simple side, yet then again mine usually are. I plan to try and learn how to do better embellishing / clustering this year. I love the look but have not really been comfortable when I have tried it to date.

Here are the two that I did yesterday. The first is actually a picture from 2 years ago that I have always loved looking at, but had never scrapped or printed it.

And secondly is one of my niece and nephew that I was sent last year in an email. I just loved the picture as it was, but decided to play with it a little and make it B&W. And wow do I love the results!!!

Hopefully my posts will be more consistent this year (yes I know I always say that).

Christmas in July

2011-07-12T11:55:00.004-04:00

Christmas is coming... to ScrapMatters this week! Beat the heat, stop by and check out the big sale!

http://scrapmatters.com/

NSD Blog Train

2011-05-07T06:05:00.004-04:00

Welcome aboard the ScrapMatters NSD Blog Train! You should be arriving here from Fiona's blog.

I hope that you are enjoying all of the fun at ScrapMatters and elsewhere this weekend! I have a made a little box for you to use for your treasures with the fantastic kit Timeless - a ScrapMatters Design Team collab, and the Not Straight Up: Hybrid Boxes by Krisi's Kreations. Remember that Timeless is free through May 12th with a $20 purchase. And let me tell you, there are some fantastic grab bags in the shop this week.

This kit has made me think back to my Grandma, and the quilts that she handmade for each child (4) and grandchild (9). It is something that I will treasure forever.

You can grab the hybrid box here! Remember that this is only available for one week and then it is gone! Sorry, Link has been disabled!

Your next stop is Fonnetta's blog. Please remember that there everyone is in a different time zone, so some posts may be a little late. If you do get a little lost you should be able to get back on track at the ScrapMatters Blog.

St Patricks Day fun

2011-03-29T20:55:00.004-04:00

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted again. Just wanted to drop in and share a layout and a project that I did related to my Bug's St Patrick's Day celebrations at school.

Since my journaling on the layout pretty much tells the whole story, here it is so you can read it.

Colin had to make a leprechaun trap this year for school. I really had no idea what it was so of course I goggled it. When I had a better idea of what it was I asked him what he how he wanted to do it. He had a few ideas. He wanted to have a hole in his box that would be covered with a tissue so the Leprechaun would step on it and fall into the trap. To my horror he also insisted that he had to add a golden toilet to it. Working together we came up with a plan. We created his trap and we both kind of won on the golden toilet issue. He did include it, but it was down inside the box so that if he did catch a Leprechaun it could then use the restroom as needed.

This morning I received a call from his teacher. She had Colin get on the phone and ask me to come in. I asked if I should bring my camera and was told most definitely yes. When I got there the kids were all listening to the student teacher read a story so I asked with Mrs Metts what she thought about the golden toilet. She could not stop giggling and said that in 24 years of teaching that was a new one.

It turns out that Colin's trap had caught a Leprechaun! When he went to check look in his box it started shaking and you could hear a cry. It said "Excuse me! Excuse me! Someone let me out of here!" So the class is now on the watch for the Leprechaun to escape.

And the CD holder that I made to give a CD of all the pictures I had taken to the teacher. (She didn't have her camera with her because it was packed for her flight later that evening).The trapped leprechaun was so neat, but unfortunately his friends came and rescued him while everyone was out of the room to get lunch. What sneaky little guys! Here is the video that I took of the trapped leprechaun, and at the end you can hear the teacher's idea as to why he ended up in Bug's trap.

got bread?

2011-02-28T17:54:00.003-05:00

Today I went out to buy our bread for the week and I looked at just how much we go through in a week. That is what this layout is all about. Yes this was all purchased today, as well as the bag of hamburger buns that you can barely see along the top right edge.

Credits:
Sunny Side Up by Chelle's Creations
2.15.11 Tuesday Template by Scrapmuss

Some recent works

2011-02-22T14:58:00.005-05:00

I'm back with some of my recent layouts and hybrid projects to share today. I'll start off with my Valentines card for the other half. This one got Project of the Week at SM!

Credits:
Forget-Me-Not by Andilynn Designs
Pieces of My Heart by Erica Zane {collab with Denise Beatty Originals}

This is one that I did for last week's Travel Scraps challenge (also at SM).

Credits:
Great Escape by WM[squared] Designs
Great Escape: States & Countries by WM[squared] Designs
Be Inspired - Kendall - Templates by WM[squared] Designs
Just The Basics: Rainbow Alpha by WM[squared] Designs
Simply Dated - V.4 by WM[squared] Designs
The Pointed Truth by Stolen Moments
"By Definition - Travel" wordart by YB Designs

Here is one for today's tuesday template challenge. There were more photo slots than I had photo's for so I used a couple of the extra blocks for part of the title. Another option could be to use papers or elements there.

Credits:
Boys in My Backyard by Stolen Moments and Stacy's Backdoor Designs
Tuesday Template 2/22/11 by Happy Scrap Girl

And this is probably my favorite hybrid card I have done in a while. As soon as I saw the kit I just knew what I wanted to do with it. You can't really tell here, but the box with the bird in it has very soft pink "inking" to it.

Credits:
My Life & Story : An Autobiography Kit by Jady Day Studio
Ink Happy Edges by HSG
2.10.11 IITC template by SylviaB
envelope made with Cover It Up: Square by Krisi's Kreations

a very quick SM CT Call

2011-02-17T23:12:00.002-05:00

Just dropping in quick to announce a very quick CT call at SM. It's only one day long so if you are interested get those applications in ASAP! By Saturday it is over!

Rules of the House

2011-02-09T14:41:00.003-05:00

Just last week I made a new sign for our house. It is one that was in my house when I was a child growing up. I wonder if it will be minded any more than it was when I was a kid?

Credits:
Countryside Harmony by Scrapmuss Designs

gingerbread houses

2010-12-17T07:04:00.003-05:00

A quick drive by post to share a layout I did yesterday after helping out at the youngest's school. Here it is side by side.

And here are the individual pages in a little larger view for you. I have noted Colin's gingerbread house on the one that was his. The others are some of the ones the other kids did. I wanted to make sure to only use their houses instead of their personal photo's for privacy reasons.

Credits:
Storyteller 2-Page Template 1 by Jady Day Studio
Terri - Handwriting Font by Krisi's Kreations
Gingerbread Kisses by Amy Stoffel
Just The Basics: Vellum Alpha by WM[squared] Designs

Couple more layouts

2010-12-04T10:26:00.003-05:00

to share from the last week or two. I think the first one will kind of speak for itself as far as what my crafty goals are anyways.

The journaling reads...

I very much feel that goals that are written out are far more likely to be achieved, so here it is... in writing.

One of my primary goals for 2011 is twofold. I want to start to really take more pictures (as well as better ones!) and to focus more on my scrapping than hybrid projects. Don’t get me wrong here, I will still be doing hybrid, but I really plan to learn to be a better scrapper. I find myself intimidated and really there is no reason for that. There is not anything out there that I can’t learn to do if I want to bad enough. Plus I do feel that it is more so the story that matters than the presentation... not that I don’t want it to look good as well!

Credits:
Denim Days from Creations by Rachael
Basic Stamped Alpha by WM[squared] Designs
Drop Shadows: Styles by Haynay Designs
font - Windsong

And this one was for yesterdays RTS (Roadmap to Scrap) challenge.

Credits:
Better Days Ahead - Collab by Jady Day Studios w/ Stolen Moments
Fabulously Negative - Templates V.2 by WM[squared] Designs
Basic Stamped Alpha by WM[squared] Designs

I'm back!

2010-11-30T19:11:00.003-05:00

My computer is all better again so I am back! I have a couple of layouts to share that I have done in the last month or so. I'll start off with the one I promised weeks ago when I was having all of the computer problems.

Credits:

Just Journalin' vol 1 {template pack} by Trixie Scraps Designs
Courage, Hope & Strength {Charity Fundraising Kit} also by Trixie Scraps

Next is this funny (or sad, depending on how you look at it) one about my boys.

Credits:
Potty Practice- Boy by Wimpy Chompers
Line It Up: Templates v. 1 by Krisi's Kreations
Stitch Me Up by Chelle's Creations
(carry my heart): The Alpha by Graham Like the Cracker

Then one with an old picture of me. Most of the time I can still be found with a book in hand, although I am not quite as flexible as I once was.

Credits:
Serenity by Happy Scrap Girl
Ink Happy Edges by Happy Scrap Girl
(October 29th Roadmap to Scrap directions)

and last but not least this one about one of my wants.

Credits:

Capture a Memory by Stolen Moments
11.2.10 Tuesday Template by Snaggle7575

All of the kits used in the layouts above are available at ScrapMatters.

ScrapMatters DSD Blog Train

2010-11-06T05:00:00.006-04:00

Welcome to my stop on the ScrapMatters DSD Blog Train! You should be arriving here from Tanya's blog. This is a very big train, so in case one of the "cars" takes off a little late and you get lost all you have to do is refer back to the SM Blog for the master list.

In going with the theme of the blog train, and the wonderful new Many Thanks collaboration kir from the wonderful SM design team I want to share what I am most thankful for on this particular week. The last couple weeks have been very tense in my house as we were quite worried about me. Two weeks ago today I found a lump in my breast. Fortunately I was able to get in to the Doctor's relatively fast, as well as get an ultrasound done of the lump rather quickly. I am very glad to be able to announce that the lump is not cancerous. I am so very grateful for that as well as all of the new technology that is available now to make it relatively fast and painless to diagnose. (If you are interested you may watch for a layout or two about this next week)

Now, on to the freebie. Today I have made a quick and easy Thank You card for you. All you have to do is print and fold and you are done. You may also easily fit 2 onto a single sheet of paper to print off a spare to have on hand!

And you may get your freebie (sorry, link has been disabled)! Don't forget that all of these will only be available for one week! Now I hope you are ready to climb back aboard and hit Kim's blog. And don't forget to check back at the SM Blog should you get derailed!

DSD weekend is here!

2010-11-05T16:36:00.010-04:00

And there are tons of goodies to be had and activities going on over at ScrapMatters this weekend! The designers have gone all out and have some gorgeous new releases and grab bags in the store this week. This is in addition to all the normal goodies. And here is the Master Schedule for the DSD activities at SM this weekend!

I will share just a few of the cards that I have made this week with the new releases. All 4 of these cards use parts from Krisi's 2010 DSD Hybrid grab bag. The first two also use Amber's (Stolen Moments) DSD Grab bag.

This lovely card was made with Jennifer Labre's gorgeous new kit With You, as well as a part of Krisi's grab bag mentioned above.

And this final card is made with Rachaels (not new) kit Ouchies, along with 2 of the items in Krisi's previously mentioned grab bag.

Well, I think that is all for today but be sure to check back in tomorrow for the blog train. There are tons of gorgeous goodies on it that you won't want to miss. And it will only be available for 1 week!

Bad blogger & Published!

2010-10-29T17:54:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone! I have been a bad bad blogger again. But to my defense Blogger and I have been having some issues. I have been pretty busy, but a lot of what I have been doing I can't show here yet. I also am finally able to announce this, I am being published in the 2011 Memory Logbook! I actually have 3 layouts being published in it! I should have some more info about it soon.

I hope to come back with pics of the layouts I can share on Monday. I am having a few technical difficulties with it right now. (I am on the hubby's computer right now)

SM Store Collabs

2010-10-03T09:19:00.002-04:00

Is there a ScrapMatters Store Collab that you have had your eye on? Well, if there is this is the week to seriously consider breaking down and buying it. Why is that? Well, they are all 50% off this week only! Check it out here!

Big News at ScrapMatters!

2010-10-01T09:00:00.004-04:00

There is some big news to share today at ScrapMatters! In celebration of the Matter of Scrap's 2nd anniversary all points for challenges this month only will be doubled! So if you use a new release SM item for a challenge this month you will receive 4 points instead of the normal 2. Talk about a great deal.And if that was not a good enough deal, this is the perfect time to get "connected"... to the SM newsletter and SM Facebook fan. This is only good for the one week, so don't waste any time getting "Connected". There are links to both in the ad on my sidebar!

I'll be back soon with some of my recent projects!

u + me =

2010-09-11T10:33:00.003-04:00

When I saw Christina's new kit Professor Atom I instantly knew what I wanted to do with it. Here is what I came up with.
It also uses the OWH sketch #32.

great gig

2010-09-03T06:31:00.003-04:00

I am a little late in posting this, but there is still time left! Its a great gig if anyone is interested!

Bad bad blogger

2010-08-31T10:22:00.007-04:00

Wow, I have been a bad bad blogger lately. So much has been going on with getting the boys ready for back to school. That day has finally come (and gone) so I am back to share a few of my recent projects now.

Here is the small back to school gift that I made for my son's second grade teacher.

Credits:Together Forever 3 Photo Cluster Templates by Haynay Designs
A Time to Learn, A Time to Learn: Word Bits and A Time to Learn: add on by Stolen Moments
Junior Legal Pad Wrap by Krisi's Kreations.

A custom crayon box for my youngest.

Credits:
Crayon Box Hybrid Templates
Enjoy and Enjoy Solid Papers by GG Digital Designs

A card that I will be sending on to OWH.

Credits:
Full Circle Hybrid Card Templates by Geeky Diva Designs
Love Grows by Erica Zane

One using an older photo of my son from his preschool.

Credits:
Love That Boy (value bundle) by Graham Like the Cracker and Bella Gypsy
ABC Basics: The Chrome Alpha by Graham Like the Cracker
8.3 Tuesday Template by Scrapmuss Designs

And finally there is this one. I went to a speed scrap last week and found that I really had no pictures that fit the criteria of the challenge. One of the ladies jokingly offered me some of hers to work with and I took her up on it. This was the resulting layout. I am rather pleased with how it turned out.
Credits:
Play (some recolored) by Sahlin Studios and De Crow Designs
EZ Date Edgers by Erica Zane
Just The Basics: Vellum Alpha and Be Inspired - Melissa - Templates (modified) both by WM[squared} Designs

Birthday Blog Train!

2010-08-07T09:00:00.006-04:00

Welcome to my stop on the ScrapMatters Birthday Blog Train. I believe that you are arriving here from Happy Scrap Girl Designs. I hope that you are enjoying the festivities so far, I know there are more planned.

I have had many memorable birthdays, among them the one in second grade where I received the chicken pox on my birthday. That was one gift I definitely wanted to return! But probably my most memorable birthday was in 1994. That year, on my 18th birthday I graduated from high school. And if that was not enough I skipped all of the graduation parties that night, and went to the Pink Floyd Concert in the Horseshoe. Talk about an amazing day! It is definitely one that I will not forget.

Now on to what you are here for. Since yesterday was my son's birthday and I needed a cute boy card for him, I used the Cupcakes & Candles Mega kit to create that card. I also made up a second version in more girly colors so today I have a couple of Birthday Cards for you.

You can find my freebie here! **Link has been disabled**

I hope that you have enjoyed this stop on your journey, and have a great time visiting all the other stops and taking part in the festivities this weekend. Your next stop along the train is Chelle's Creations!

Happy Birthday Bryce!

2010-08-06T07:05:00.002-04:00

Well, the big day is here! My oldest is now (in his own words) officially a pre-teen. Happy Birthday Bryce! (But you will always be momma's baby!!)

And in other birthday news, I have a master schedule of the birthday events that will be happening over at ScrapMatters this weekend. Be sure to go check it out, and to check back tomorrow for the blog train. You will only have one week before all links on the train disappear (then it will go into the store as a DT/CT collab)!

Birthday Week!

2010-08-04T16:47:00.003-04:00

There are a few Birthday's happening this week. Most important to me would be my oldest son. He is turning 11 this Friday, and as he informed me he will now officially be a pre-teen! Ay-yi -yi! Then another pretty important one would be Scrap Matters. SM is turning 3 and there are a bunch of fun things planned. Be sure to check back there this weekend as there will be games, blog train, sale etc.

Non-traditional Christmas Colors

2010-08-04T07:03:00.002-04:00

I found this kit last month and absolutely love it. It is very non traditional in colors, but that can be a good thing. It is like a breath of fresh air, and it is just so elegant as well. Check out this card that I made with it.
The kit is Wishes from By Becca , with the Wishes masks as well.

Sarah Bennett CT Template Blog train is departing!

2010-07-28T09:00:00.001-04:00

Due to the great success of out template train in May we are back with another template blog train! It is a little smaller than last time due to summer getting in the way, *giggle* but we still have some great templates for you! Since my "area of expertise" is hybrid this time I have gone a little bit different route and made a card template.It is based off of this card made with Sarah's Love You Always kit. I love this kit, and it can be used for so much more than just the Valentines that first come to mind when you see it. Sarah is retiring as of the end of this month and her store will be closing then. Everything is on sale 50% off (you will see the sale price in the shopping cart). Be sure to grab it before her store closes on July 31st!
As you can see you can make the card as dimensional as you like. I love those extra touches, but nothing can beat a quick print and go card when you have forgotten an event. And no that has never happened to me. Nope. No way. No how. Never. (Am I being too emphatic and ruining my credibility on the matter?)So anyways, you should be arriving here from Katie's Scraps.
And your next stop should be at Amy's Unforgettable Moments. Please be patient if not all stops are up right away. There are usually little hiccups with where each person is located and what time zone their blog host is located in. If you do get lost the master list can be found here.
And you can grab the template here!

USA card

2010-07-22T15:43:00.006-04:00

Well, I didn't make it back earlier this week, sorry about that. Had some printer issues and was really busy as well.

Today I have a card to share that was done for the IITC challenge over at SM. There have been so many great patriotic kits released this month that it was my first thought for a theme when I saw the template. The one that I decided to use was Celebrate Independence by WM[squared] Designs. I just love Wendy's kits. She packs them full of such neat elements and papers. And here is what I came up with. I thought the template was perfect to showcase some of the well known American icons.

The calm and my guys

2010-07-17T06:30:00.007-04:00

Wow, this is 3 days in a row and 4 for the week! I am on a roll and really trying hard to be a better blogger. Here is the layout that I promised yesterday. I did this one for the 7.16 Roadmap to Scrap challenge at ScrapMatters. I love that I pulled out an old favorite photo and ended up doing something with it because of this challenge. Credits:

Gone Fishing from Creations by Rachael
Whispers: Nature, Embossed Frames, Foam Stamp Alpha(recolored) by Sahlin Studios
Get Real (shadows) by Jennifer Barette Designs
Extinct Alpha by WM[squared] Designs

I have always loved this picture and I am guessing you can see why. It's just so dramatic looking. My goal was to keep the layout pretty simple and kind of rustic looking. I think I managed it.

I also have made a layout with the photo of my boys from the header. I sooo love this picture, and had to do something with it so I ran a photo action on it and then used the vintage layer only for my large blend. Over top of that is a very softly blended text layer that consists of the date repeated tons of times. (erased from over their faces)Credits:
Sunday Afternoon Collab from Designs by Sarah Bennett and Trixie Scraps Designs
Spicy Meatballs Templates collab from Connie Prince and Bella Gypsy
Get Real: realistic drop shadows by Jennifer Barrette Designs

CoffeeShop B&W Classic and Bittersweet Vintage photo action

Well, that is all for today. I'll *hopefully* be back with more on Monday!

I miss ewe!

2010-07-16T05:30:00.001-04:00

I am back today with another card made for OWH. This week they have issues a challenge for cards made for the heroes to send home to their children. As soon as I saw that challenge I had something in mind. I used the Wild Oats kit, which is a collaboration between Chelle's Creations and Designs by Sarah Bennett.
Here is what I came up with, the barn and the small cloud is raised up with glue dots and the barn with pop dots to give it two different levels of dimension.
Well, thank you for looking and check back tomorrow for another scrap layout!

A scrap layout... OMGosh!

2010-07-15T09:06:00.003-04:00

Wow, it has been a while since I have done much scrapping. I have done a bit this week and have one to show you today. It uses this weeks Tuesday Template over at ScrapMatters. I must say this is a great template for man photos. It was just the kick I needed to scrap these pictures from Waldameer that I probably would not have gotten to for some time otherwise.

The journaling blocks read:
The boys had never really been to an amusement park before, so we were a little hesitant to get the season passes to Waldameer, in Erie PA.

As you can tell from the first day here they had a blast! They tried at least a dozen rides each. We are so very glad that they loved it. Cedar Point... here we come!

Credits:Enjoy Solid Papers, Enjoy - Full Kit and Enjoy Dates by GG Digital Designs
Get Real: Realistic "Drop Shadows" by Jennifer Barrette Designs
Stitches from Fun in the Sun by Creative Dreams
7.13 Tuesday Tempate by YB Designs

Because of the Brave

2010-07-13T11:43:00.006-04:00

I found this card sketch over on the OWH Stars and Stamps blog that I decided to give a shot. Since I am still totally in love with the Old Glory kit (link is to the bundle) I thought I would use this kit to play. Here is what I came up with...What do you think?

Coloring card anyone?

2010-07-06T17:43:00.004-04:00

I saw these blank dinosaur stickers by GG Digital Designs in the shop and knew instantly what I wanted to do with them. So I made them into some cards. I mean, what fun is an already colored card? I know as a kid I would have loved to receive a card like this. (Who am I kidding? I would still love one like this!) This particular design is probably best suited for little boys... good thing I have two of them and my cousins have a lot of young boys too.

Couple of cards

2010-07-01T08:46:00.006-04:00

I saw this kit and absolutely loved it. I thought it would make the cutest card for one of my boys or nephews.
Credits:Rocket Launch by Wimpychompers Creations
6/10 IITC challenge template by SylviaB

Then there is this one. I saw this kit and immediately thought baby. Don't you agree?
Credits: Frolic by Jenn Barrette
6/24 IITC challenge template by Melissa

Gorgeous Americana kit

2010-06-30T08:20:00.006-04:00

Sarah Bennett has just collaborated with Trixie Scraps Designs to make the most gorgeous Americana kit I have seen! It is called Old Glory. This kit is absolutely packed with goodies. I know it will be one of my favorite "go to" kits for a long time to come. Here is a layout that I did with it.
I also used Get Real: shadows by Jennifer Barrette Designs and Becky's May (SB) CT blog train template to create this layout. The font is Porcelain

How about this?

2010-06-24T17:58:00.001-04:00

Wow, I have been away for a while. I promise I have been super busy during this time. About a month ago my Mom moved in with us temporarily because she had broken her ankle and needed some help. We are talking a serious break here... steel plate and 38 pins / screws. (So once she is fully healed am I able to ask her if she has a screw loose? *grin*). So anyways, we were discussing all the pretty canes that you can get if you have a normal one and she said how sad she is that she can't get one because hers has the 4 "feet" on it and they don't make them pretty. **light bulb moment** So I thought about it and set about making her a pretty cane. Here is what I came up with...
Using Man in the Moon Designs kit Charming Gardner, a lot of mod podge, acrylic sealer, silk flowers, grosgrain ribbon and hot glue. She is absolutely in love with it and so anxious to get rid of the walker and be able to use and show off her beautiful new cane!

Krisi is having a CT Call

2010-05-18T06:49:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone. A quick note to let you all know that Krisi is having a CT Call!. She makes some really great hybrid templates and is really wonderful to work with. You should definitely check it out!

the Sarah Bennett CT Blog train is now departing!!!

2010-05-14T06:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the Sarah Bennett CT blog train. You should be arriving at my blog from Britanee's blog. I hope that you are enjoying all of these wonderful templates. Be sure to stop on by Sarah's store and pick up some of her great kits to use with these. She has a really great kit, My Buddy, being released today with lots of masculine colors!
Here is the original layout that I based my template off of. I have added in a spot for a photo as well, still keeping with the feel of my original.And here is the template itself.
Here is the link for the layered PSD template.
And here is where you can get the separated PNG layers.

The next (and final) stop on the train is Amy. If you happen to have gotten lost somewhere along the train, or have just stumbled aboard... here are all of your stops.

CT Blog http://designsbysarahbennett.blogspot.com
Trish http://justthe6ofus.net/
Katie http://scrappingwithkatie.blogspot.com
Kim http://karayannisfamily.blogspot.com/
Li http://libeingcrafty.blogspot.com/
Jamie http://jamiesscrapblog.blogspot.com/
AmyM http://melniczenkomusings.blogspot.com/
Kendall http://majorscrapitude.blogspot.com/
Becky http://hodgeypodgeblog.blogspot.com/
Britanee http://britaneesscraps.blogspot.com/
Amanda http://mandasmemories.blogspot.com/
AmyP http://amyp-unforgettablemoments.blogspot.com/

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you will enjoy all these wonderful templates.

Another blog train leaving the station tomorrow...

2010-05-13T17:58:00.002-04:00

Stopping in to let you all know there will be another blog train departing tomorrow! Be sure to check back.

Server issues at SM

2010-05-03T07:24:00.006-04:00

Well, if you tried to take part in the NSD festivities at ScrapMatters this weekend you know that there were some server issues. If it caused problems with you being able to make your desired purchases I have some good news for you!
Now, didn't I tell you it was good news! What are you waiting for?

Happy NSD Day!

2010-05-01T09:00:00.012-04:00

Hello everyone! And welcome to your next stop on the ScrapMatters [inter]National Scrapbooking Day blog train. This train has stops ALL OVER THE WORLD!!! You have probably just come from Becky's blog . That's the stop before this one. And now you've arrived in Ohio at Manda's Memories!

Our NSD mega-collab at SM this weekend is called "Moments that Matter" and the whole theme of our celebration is all about those moments in our lives that really matter. At each stop you'll find a story about a Moment that Matters along with a freebie!! There are TONS of stops on this blog train, so you can pick up a LOT of goodies!!

OK, so the 'moment that matters' I've chosen to share is . . .

When the 2007 school year started my youngest was getting ready to go to his first full year of preschool. He attended a special preschool under an IEP (Individualized Education Program) because he was very delayed in his speech. Because this was under an IEP and the school he was being sent to was in another district within the county he received busing to the preschool. That first day of school he was so very excited to be headed back. He had loved the half a year he had attended the year before.

We had been told that the bus would probably come at the same time, but to please be outside waiting 15 minutes earlier than his pickup time the year before for the first couple of days until they had a better feel for the route. So we were out waiting at the desired time. Because of the longer ride time he was actually supposed to be picked up a little before my oldest.

I had both boys out waiting and managed to take a really great (my favorite to this day) picture of the two of them together. The expected time for his bus had come and gone with no sign of it. After big brother's bus came and his still wasn't there he got so upset. He walked to our front step, sat down started crying. Finally, about 45 minutes late the bus showed up. It had been stuck in a long line of traffic waiting for a stopped train.
I want to always remember that excitement that they had for school that year. From that year on, while neither of them hate school they have not been quite as excited about it again. It was also one of their best times getting along to date, and I even managed to get it on film.

Well, on to the blog train freebie that I have for you. I have a thank you card and an embellished heart made from the Moments That Matter - Mega Collab to share with you today. I hope that you can find a use for this.

You can download it here... link disabled.

Link will be active until midnight Thursday night 5/6. Then all these blog train goodies are getting gathered up and put into the store!

Enjoy!!! And now you're off to the next stop on the blog train . . .

Alamama's Blog!

Have fun and wonderful NSD!!!!

And the sale is on!

2010-04-30T16:45:00.004-04:00

The NSD sale at ScrapMatters that is! And there is some really great stuff new to the shop today. TONS of grab bags packed full of goodies. I snagged Chelle's grab bag and made something really cute with it. Want to see???

Also there is a "fireside chat" there tonight. Should be lots of fun! Hope to see you there!

iNSD is coming this weekend!

2010-04-27T16:33:00.003-04:00

NSD is coming this weekend and there is TONS of stuff planned over at ScrapMatters! Go here to check out what all is going to be happening. There is going to be a blog train on Saturday (yes there will be a stop here!) as well as there is a free with purchase mega kit, and hybrid printables if you meet the respective purchase minimums. And let me tell you, there is going to be some great stuff coming out over there this week!

2010-03-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

Wendy has been busy this last week as well. She has a bundle, a collab and a template set that are new in the store this week. And here is how I used them this week. First off I made this card with matching envelope from the Where the Heart Is collab. Isn't it just the cutest? I also used Krisi's Cover it Up: Rectangle template to make the envelope. Those are such a great deal because it takes all of the guesswork out of it. And there is something to be said for a matching envelope. I also played with the Shamrocks bundle and came up with a fun set of pins for the boys and I to wear on Saint Patrick's Day. I haven't decided who will get to wear each one yet. Problem is I love them all! The Irish for a day pin uses pop dots to raise the smaller shamrock off of the background and make it more dimensional.

another CT

2010-03-05T15:56:00.006-05:00

When Sarah Bennett joined ScrapMatters on a permanent basis she decided to do a CT call. I love her designs so I figured I would throw my hat in the ring. I am excited to be able to say that I was accepted! So this was my first actual week on the CT and wow, does she have some goodies available.Spunky Monkey is a brand new release and it is so perfect for all those ornery kid pictures! The next offerings are all being re-released to the ScrapMatters Store. Starting off with the Lined Up Template Pack, the gorgeous Sister Sue, the fun Scribbly Alpha and Scribbly Alpha 2. I have only had a chance to play with the first three so far, but I am sure I will get much use out of all of them. Here is my first layout, featuring my niece being a silly monkey.
And I also did a hybrid project using the Sister Sue kit. It also uses Krisi's Not Straight Up:Hybrid Boxes template. Don't ya just love that flower on the top!Well, I think that is about all that I have for you today. Check back soon to see what Wendy released this week as well!

no more lost cards...

2010-02-26T09:29:00.003-05:00

Flash cards that is. I used some of Wendy's new products out today to make sure of that. First off she has an awesome Cardstock pack out. Look at all of those great colors!

And to go with it she has some alpha's. The bundle is the way to go here.

So, what did I do with these? I made some flash card books! I used the above products as well as her Back to School: Overlays and my wonderful Bind it All to create these. Now there is absolutely no reason for them to be all over the place. I did "shuffle" them up so they would not be sequential. Now all I have to do is find the subtraction cards in stock at the store, and put it and the division together and they will have a full set!
Well, hopefully we don't get all of this snow that they are calling for. I am so ready for all that white stuff to be gone. Have a great day!

for Mom

2010-02-19T16:28:00.004-05:00

Ok. I altered a clipboard for my mom this week using Wendy's new kit Fat Tuesday. I didn't have any New Orleans pictures, but the papers are just gorgeous and I wanted to play with them. My mom really loves the color purple so I figured this was the perfect kit for this. I also used some Bazzil swiss dot cardstock I had found at the store and really love. Anyhow, this is what I managed to come up with. Do you like it Mom?

Organization

2010-01-28T17:28:00.004-05:00

First off I am very sorry it has been so long since my last post. My whole family has been sick , and not all at the same time. Of course we had to drag it out and all be sick one after another!

One of my goals for this year is to be more organized and I decided to make myself a file to help with that. I will be using it to store medical and dental receipts, unpaid bills and such. Isn't it just gorgeous? I even got to play with my new Bind-it-All in making this. The flower on the front is also raised up 2 times with dimensionals. Ialso used the kit Elegant Whisper by Legacy 4life, pop dots, a corner rounder and red bazzil cardstock.
I will be back with more again soon I hope. Have a few things in the works.

ballerinas

2010-01-04T11:03:00.003-05:00

So, I hope everyone's New Year is going well. Ours hasn't been too bad, after all my Buckeyes finally won a bowl game! And my Browns also pulled off a win streak to end the season. If only I could get rid of this lingering cough. It has been hanging around for over a week now and is really getting old. Fortunately I seem to be the only one in the family affected.

Vacations are almost over. Les went back to work today and the kids head back to school tomorrow. I have almost forgotten what peace and quiet sounds like!

Ballerinas are currently a very big thing with my niece. She is taking dance class now and is TOTALLY loving it. So I made her some stuff with an awesome kit called Tiny Dancer which is a thrice as nice collab at Scrap Matters. I made her a shirt, which I hope to have a picture of her wearing soon and this barrette holder which I am so tickled with.

In with the new year!

2009-12-31T21:15:00.006-05:00

Well, here we are about to start the new year. Are you all ready for it? I think I am. I have lots of goals for the new year but I think the biggest one will probably be to get myself into better shape. I will be using the planner that I made here to help keep me on track. I will also be trying to use Walker Tracker more often and hopefully my widget down on the left of the page will reflect that. I will also attempt to blog more regularly this coming year.

I have something to share today that I made as one of my Christmas gifts. I really liked how it turned out so I am thinking of making another one for me!

Supplies used:
Glam Tidings - Kim B's Designs
Terracotta pot painted with gold acrylic ink and Java Walnut ink (random strokes).
Dowel rod stained with Java Walnut Ink
Ribbon
Cone form
Floral foam covered with dark chocolate corduroy.
MANY dressmakers pins

Baby it's cold....

2009-12-10T19:14:00.003-05:00

It has been cold and nasty here the last day or so. We had really high winds yesterday which knocked out our electric for over 9 hours total. I decided that it was something that I would probably want to look back on years from now so I scrapped it. Here is what I came up with.
Credits:
font - Alaskan Nights
Let it Snow - WM[squared] designs and Purple Tulip Designs
Save the Date V.4 - WM[squared] Designs
staple from D is for dog - WM[squared] Designs

Another speed scrap

2009-12-04T18:17:00.004-05:00

I totally forgot to post this layout from the speed scrap that I did on Monday. I am rather pleased with how it turned out. I used the repeated circles to go with the wheels on the bike.

It was definitely out of my comfort zone with the directions given. (you get 7 sets of directions over a 60 minute time period and then have another hour to finish the layout.)

Credits: ric rac - Sense of Adventure - Happy Scrap Girls Ribbon - Honeydew -WM[squared] designs date - Save the Date v3 - WM[squared] Designs staples - D is for Dog - WM [squared] Designs Christmas in Paradise by WM[squared] Designs and Haynay Designs tab - CU Basic Elements - Creative Dreams

a fun new challenge

2009-12-03T15:02:00.005-05:00

There is a fun new challenge over at DSO right now. Bunny is running a trial ATC swap challenge. For this you make an ATC card digitally and upload a low res version to the gallery. If you want to you can send the high resolution version to her and at the end of the month (most likely a couple of days after to give her a chance to get them all together and recover from New Years day *giggle*) she will send back to you the files from everyone that decided to share! Now how awesome is that!!!

I decided I wanted to get in on this. So here is what I came up with. Let me tell you I think that was the most intensive thing I have ever done. There are over 60 layers on just the front side of this!

Credits:
Anyone for Tea - Kim B designs
Toof Fairy add on - Kim B designs and GS Creations
Garden Treasures kit, little bo peep freebie, frog prince freebie, twinkle freebie, waterrushes freebie, maryqc2 freebie - GS Creations

I think I have all the credits sorted out, in case I don't everything used is by either Kim B or GS Creations

More hybrid goodness

2009-12-01T10:57:00.003-05:00

I have another hybrid project to share today. I had an absolute ball making it. I used Wendy's Santa Baby kit to make it that is still available right now in a wonderfully stuffed grab bag.

It is only in grab bag form until Thursday so if you want it you better get it fast!

But back to my project. I decided to make a Christmas ornament with this kit. While browsing around looking for other project ideas I had seen a tutorial for double ball ornaments at Splitcoast Stampers and I had loved it. When I got started I realized that the hatpins I had were larger than what they used in the tutorial so I ended up making it a triple ball ornament. What do you think?

I think she's gone crazy!

2009-11-25T18:01:00.003-05:00

Who you ask? Anne of Creative Dreams has gone crazy! Let me tell you why... She has a new kit coming out on Friday (I'll show you something made with it here in a minute) and to celebrate "Black Friday" she is having a HUGE sale. ALL of her kits will be $1!!! And as if that is not enough all of her CU products will be only $2! All weekend long! Talk about an amazing deal. Be sure to run over and take advantage of this deal!

Here is my promised sneak peek of the new kit. It's a fun, retro Christmas kit. Great for you to pull out all of those old pictures of Christmases Past. Here are my niece's waiting anxiously for the adults to be up and ready.

Been busy - step journal

2009-11-24T18:30:00.007-05:00

Sorry for the delay between posts. I have been pretty busy making things. A couple I can't share until after the holidays, and the rest I will share over a period of the next few days. Today I will share a project that I have had in mind for a while, and decided how I wanted to do it just recently.If you have followed my blog for a while you may have noticed that down near the bottom of the gadget bar I have a walker tracker widget. I wear a pedometer pretty much every day and try to get in the recommended 10k steps a day. I got lazy about recording it, and have made it one of my new years resolutions to keep better track. To assist me with that I grabbed a weekly planner at the dollar store and decorated it. I used Wendy's Life is a Marathon word art pack that she made up to celebrate her Mom's first Marathon. I also used the paper pack that Jen Davey made up to go with the word art pack. I added the word steps to the 10k element for the cover. It says "at least 10K STEPS a day IS THE GOAL". Then I made up stickers using the 5, 8, 10, 15 and 20k elements. (If I start walking closer to the next amount I will print them out as well) I plan to use the stickers each day below the day of the week and date to mark at a glance which of those amounts I hit on that day. It will leave the lines to the side so I can put in exact numbers and journal some about what I did that day and how I felt.

So I am hoping that this will help encourage me to keep walking and pushing for better totals. Does anyone want to be a walking buddy?

Speed Scraps just may be addictive...

2009-11-12T07:01:00.004-05:00

Ok, I think doing my first speed scrap may have been a bad thing. They are addictive! I am having a blast doing them. I did another one yesterday and had pretty much the basic layout done in that first hour, leaving me nearly an hour to tweak. It let me use some custom shadows, and intertwine my string with my pictures. From what I understand though I have been pretty lucky so far. So far there has not been a late instruction that totally threw me for a loop.

Credits:
Enjoy the Journey Alpha - WM [squared] designs and Dirty Feet Designs
D is for Dog - splatter and staple - WM[squared] Designs
Boys are Trouble (DSD Grab Bag) - everything else -Jennifer Barrette

Happy Birthday Sis & First SS layout!

2009-11-08T21:13:00.006-05:00

Happy Birthday Sis! Love ya bunches!

Yesterday I participated in 2 Speed Scraps! They were my first ever attempts at a SS. I failed miserably on the first one, but actually managed to finish the second one! I am rather pleased with how it turned out. What do you think?

Credits:
net, measuring tape - Catch of the Day by Pressed Petals
String, staple - D is for Dog by WM[squared] Designs
template - ttchia 12-23-08
papers - Boy's Club by Sweet Blossom Designs
frames with stitching - Gunhild Storeide
alpha - Rustic Walk by A Work in Progress
Date stamp - Simply Dated v.3 (DSD PU Grab bag) - WM[squared] Designs

DSD goodie

2009-11-07T16:35:00.004-05:00

Just posting a quick note for you all. Be sure to hop on over to WM[squared] Designs blog, as there are a couple of freebies available today. Wendy has a QP up and I have a set of Thanksgiving place cards up. Here is what they look like...

So run on over and grab them!

Holiday Cheer

2009-11-05T15:57:00.007-05:00

I have been playing with Wendy's Holiday Cheer kit the last week and had a lot of fun with it. I have done two cards and a layout with it so far. The stocking and the tree on the cards have actually been hand stitched along the elements guidelines, and then the cream layer was mounted to the cardstock with pop dots. I think that really adds so much to the cards. The layout was done for the challenge over on Wendy's blog. Be sure to snag the template and give it a shot! You have until Nov 24th to get it in.

My adorable niece

2009-11-03T15:43:00.005-05:00

I have more layouts to share of my niece today. I just love having some girl pictures to play with. I picked Summer Blessings by Charlies Digiscraps to scrap these with.

This first one is one that I had been trying to scrap forever but just couldnt get it to look right. I tried all kinds of things and just didn't like anything I had done with it. Well, today I was browsing galleries and saw this LO. As soon as I saw it I knew what I could do with this picture so this one is a scraplift of Nov_Font by Sexy Eyes.

The next one is of my niece and her friend before they went out trick or treating. I just love the picture, but because her friends costume totally clashed with hers I decided to turn the photo B&W except for my niece. Then I once again used Summer Blessings for the LO, recoloring all of the green items so they would match the photo.

I hope you enjoyed these, and I will have more to share later this week.

leaves and halloween treats

2009-10-30T15:39:00.006-04:00

Hi all! I'm sorry I didn't get back here since my announcement last Friday, I have been busy making things. I have a couple to show you today, a few for next week and will have pictures of the Halloween costumes that we made early next week as well. As Nicky pointed out after my last post I forgot to mention who's CT I had made it on to. Chalk it up to excitement. I am now CT'ing for Wendy of WM[squared] Designs. She sells exclusively at Scrap Matters. So, on to the projects.

Wendy has a new template set out today called Fabulously Negative - Templates and I did a layout with it. It is one of the many photos I took the other day after we raked up leaves. I have many more pictures to play with soon.I also did a little more with Wendy's Boo Bash as well. I made some treat bags for the neighborhood kids that are always here to play with my boys. I personalized each one with their names. We are passing them out today since they are more than what the masses will be getting.

Hot news!

2009-10-23T13:43:00.006-04:00

I have some hot news to share today! A little over a week ago I noticed a CT call that interested me. Wendy (WM[squared] Designs) was looking for regular scrap as well as hybrid. I decided to go ahead and throw in my hat. And guess what??? I made it! Along with 12 more full time and a number of special guests! Here is the whole crew.

I jumped right in with both feet and already have a project to share! I decided to work with her new Halloween kit Boo Bash. I am having a blast with it. I have made a t-shirt for me already as well as a couple of other projects with this kit. (I'm waiting for final approval from the boys before I finish them). What I really love about making these shirts is that I know it is an original, I won't be running into anyone else with the same design. Here is the wonderful Boo Bash kit as well as the pic of me in my new shirt.

Momma's lil' cupcake

2009-10-13T14:46:00.002-04:00

I have another project to share today using Nadya's Cupcake by Desert Designs. I made this t-shirt for my niece to wear. I think it is just adorable and can't wait to get it rewashed (a must after the transfer process) and sent to her. I am hoping that she will really like her one of a kind tee. I love my boys dearly, but they wouldn't go for something like this now... Too bad I hadn't found digi / hybrid until they were both in school. I could have had a lot of fun embellishing baby clothes!

The Sweetest

2009-10-09T18:34:00.005-04:00

Wow, it has been a while again. Very sorry about that. I had some dental work done mid Sept that really knocked me out and am finally getting caught back up on things. Earlier this month my niece went to the Circus for the first time. At the end of the night she got her face painted, and we got some great pics of it from my sister. (Unfortunately she didn't get any pics while at the circus) Here is a layout that I made with the picture. Isn't she just the sweetest? I used Shannon's kit Nadya's Cupcake to make it. Isn't this kit just yummy?

Back to school

2009-09-23T18:21:00.004-04:00

Yes, I know they have been back to school for a few weeks now, but this week I made the yearly "back to school" layouts. There is an awesome new kit this week over at DSO and it made these layouts painless. The name of the kit is It's Elementary Created by Jill.
I love the bright colors, and there are so many wonderful elements in this kit. I didn't even use half of them!

If only I could get the boys to take better pictures! What is it with boys and goofball grins? Why oh why can't they just relax and be normal in front of the camera? I guess I shouldn't complain too much, since these pictures are a huge improvement over ones taken not all that long ago.

a Birthday gift set

2009-09-18T15:34:00.005-04:00

Wow, its been a little while since I last blogged. I've been pretty busy though. My son has a friend that invited him to a birthday party tomorrow and I was making up the gift (more pics at the bottom of the post). I know that she loves to read so I thought I would make her a book log / journal for her to keep track of books she has read and wants to read. I also have a section there for her to use as a journal / diary. Once I got started I couldn't stop! I also made a couple of bookmarks, a mini notepad, birthday card and a gift bag topper that all match. Inside the binder there is also a small zippered pouch which is where I am putting the bookmarks, pen, mini notebook and a Barnes & Nobles Gift card. I figure she can also keep her library card in there. I used LouCee's kit Jean Genie. This kit is just gorgeous! I had a ball playing with it to make this gift set. It was so fun to get to play with a "girly" kit for once!

A true love story

2009-09-10T17:31:00.005-04:00

The other day I was looking at the stack of library books that I had checked out and I decided that it was definitely something that I should scrap about. So here I have a layout about my lifelong love affair. After I finished I just had to laugh, because when I was looking at the finished layout I saw the play on words from the title. I promise that it was totally unintentional. Credits: Word art - Words about Life by Words to Delight, Dark Dream - Designs By Sassy

Back to school and more

2009-09-01T16:13:00.004-04:00

Lots of stuff going on here now with the boys starting back to school this week. My other half is also off on vacation this week so this will likely be my only post until after Labor Day since my "play" time will be drastically limited. Either they come up with more things that we parents have to fill out every year or I just keep forgetting how much there is!

I do have a layout to share today though. All summer long Bryce has been wanting to help mow the lawn. I finally broke down and let him help out. I took quite a few pictures and used them to make this layout. I love how I was able to use the SeaBreeze kit to make non beach layouts. The papers are wonderful! Credits: font - Segoe Print, word art - Words about Life by Words to Delight (Jazzy), everything else - SeaBreeze by Charlies Digiscraps

The Adventures of the Hall Boys... Vol. 1

2009-08-21T13:23:00.002-04:00

Have you ever felt like your life is right out of a comic book? Yesterday was one of those days for me, so I decided to scrap it. Of course I had to put it in a comic book format. It took a good bit of time, but I had fun doing it, and am rather pleased with how it turned out. (Be sure to notice the stuff under the couch in the strip.) The journaling reads - Don’t get me wrong, I love my boys to death, but I was really annoyed at them today. The basic story is outlined in the comic strip that I created (because it seemed just like it came from a comic strip!) And then they wondered why they were in trouble. To make it even worse when they “cleaned up” that mess, half of it went back under the couch! Under the strip itself is a partial listing of what I found. Among the found items were 18 (dirty) socks! And they couldn't figure out why their sock drawers were empty even after laundry days? Come on guys! I used Charlie's new kit Seabreeze. Love the colors in the kit, great for masculine pages as well as seaside ones. Credits: Word Art and comic strip by me, everything else - Sea Breeze by Charlies Digiscraps

2009-08-19T19:42:00.010-04:00

Sorry I've been gone most of the week. Haven't been feeling too hot. I did get a few layouts done this week though. I used another of the DSO kits (April Showers) for all 3 of the layouts. One of each boy and one of my niece. I guess we will go ladies first...

I just loved this paper so much when I saw it and wanted to keep the layout fairly simple. It actually ended up a little more involved than I had intended, but I liked the butterfly path too much to not use it! Credits: April showers - DSO April 09 Collab, font - Arial Narrow

Next up is my Bug. He is such a character. This is what I saw one afternoon last April as I sat on the porch and waited for them to come up our little dead end road from the bus. Fortunately I had just enough time to dash inside and get the camera! Yes it was raining at the time. Don't ask me why he was carrying the umbrella over his head like that. I honestly have no idea. Credits: April showers - DSO April 09 Collab, font - Arial Narrow

And last but not least we have Bryce. he got invited to a kickball game last weekend at the town park by one of his former classmates. About a dozen kids showed up. Not too bad for half a weeks notice in the middle of the summer! The part that just tickled me to death was that after lacksadaisically keeping score for a couple of innings all of the kids agreed that they really didn't care what the score was, they just wanted to play and have fun. That was such a refreshing attitude and I thought it was quite impressive. Credits: Kickball - internet search picture, base - PSE default shape, template - SM-0818temp by Linz, title font - Shark Random Funnyness, everything else - April Showers - DSO April 09 Collab

An old photo

2009-08-12T20:55:00.002-04:00

I was looking at the My Little Monkey kit by LP&3Dogs Designs again and thought back to an old photo of me. When I dug it out it worked even better than I figured it might. The colors match up with the kit very well. I had fun making this layout. I think my favorite part is all of the monkeys peeking out from behind papers and photos.

Anyone for a game of checkers?

2009-08-11T16:32:00.005-04:00

I have some news! I made it onto the DSO Creative Team! I am so very excited about that. I got my first kit today and already have one project completed to share with you all. Is anyone up for a game of checkers? If so have a fun one for you. The first kit that I chose to work with is My Little Monkey by LPand3dogs Designs. This is such a darling kit. The monkeys are just adorable, the papers are all very fun.

I made up the checkerboard in PSE and printed it out. Then I adhered it to some chipboard and covered it with clear contact paper to make it more kid friendly. For the checker pieces I used the kit's 2 flairs and created backs on my own to match. I used the PSE default crown shape so they had their king's... as easy as a flip of the chip. They were all punched out using a 1 inch circle paper punch and run through my mini xyron so I could easily put them together. These were also mounted to punched out chipboard circles to make them more sturdy. I added an envelope to the back of the board to hold all of the pieces when they are not playing with the game. The boys have been having fun playing it on this nice and rainy afternoon.

I have so many more ideas for ways to use this kit so I am sure that you will be seeing more of it in the future.

2 in a row!

2009-07-31T15:39:00.006-04:00

I'm back again. Be sure to stop on over at the Dream Team blog and check out the desktop wallpaper that I made for August.

I also have more of those layouts to share today. I think that for today it will be one of Dehlia and one of Colin. We were all sitting at the table eating ice cream the one evening and I just had to run and grab the camera. I got some cute shots of D with a messy ice cream face and used them to make this layout. I had a ball making the D to go on the paper. It is the letter D of a font called VTKS Deja Vu. I made it HUGE, put a bevel on it and then created 3 layers underneath it to "color" it in with the airbrush feature at a low opacity. I was really pleased with how it turned out so I will probably do it again in the future. Credits: Sweet Summertime - S. Neparko of Desert Designs, Fonts - Lizzielongstocking and VTKS Deja Vu

I also did a layout of Colin. In a weeks time he lost all four front top teeth. It left him with a big time gap. So of course I had to get pictures. There was also a quote challenge for July at DSO about toothless grins... Could it possibly have been more perfect? I played around with this one last night and this is what I came up with. All of the smaller type behind the quote is actually just more of the quote, repeated many times and occasionally in red. I have seen that done on other layouts and really liked it so I decided to give it a try. Credits: fonts used : Alder, Courier New and Impact, alphabeads - alphabeads by Ziggle Designs, twill tag - Gunhild Storeide, word art by me, everything else - Apple Delight by Sweet Blossom Designs

I guess...

2009-07-30T16:25:00.007-04:00

that I am a bad blogger again. To my defense I have been out of state for over a third of the month. Then there was the prep for and recovery from the trip to deal with. So anyhow, I finally sat down and "played" with some of my pictures from the trip. I have gotten 4 layouts done so far, and will share 2 of them today. I found that most of the pictures that I took while we were gone were either "texture" pictures or flowers / bugs. I did get a few pictures of kids too and will share those another day soon. On the pink layout all of the pictures except for one were taken in Murfreesboro and Nashville TN. Credits: background paper - Vintage Blush by Creative Dreams, debossing and bows- Lily's Garden by A Work in Progress, date stamp - Shel Belle Scraps, Alpha - Grape Crush by A Work in Progress.

I am really liking the mostly black and white one. I think I am going to make a small photobook with some of my nature shots sometime in the near future. I think I will use similar style across the entire book. As I get more pages for it done I will share them here. Pretty much just the photo, plain black background, and simple type on it. I want the focus of that book to be the photos so keeping things simple.

I'll have more to share soon so be sure to check back.

Boys will be boys

2009-07-02T21:47:00.004-04:00

I am sooo loving this next LO. I originally made it with a picture of my Dad, but he requested that I please not post it so I did the next best thing. I made it up with a picture of Bryce.

It was my first attempt at scene building and I had a blast doing it. It helped that I found a perfect kit to do it with during the DigiScrapAddict SYTYCD (so you think you can design) contest. The kit's maker took second place out of about 60? (sorry I don't remember how many were in the first round) designers over the 5 week contest. Credits:Jady Day Studio - National Park Fun fonts used - Yugly, Microsoft Sans Serif and Bradley Hand ITC

Photobook

2009-06-18T07:28:00.004-04:00

I have a photobook on the way! I am sooo excited. That is what I was working on most of the last week. Right now it has been in Groveport for 2 days... what's the holdup? Get it on a truck headed here already!!! Don't you know how crazy I am going waiting for it to get here?

This is one of the layouts I had to make to finish it up. It The picture just cracks me up. Dozer lays down right with them. He is about the most agreeable dogs I have ever seen. I wanted to carry the number theme throughout the layout. Credits: Numb3rs - Sweet Blossom Designs

Keep it spinnin' Momma!

2009-06-11T12:06:00.004-04:00

OK, so today is the first day of summer break. I have been working out daily for the past few weeks on the Wii with Wii Fit and My Fitness Coach. The boys had seen me doing a little bit of it on the weekends but had missed most of it because I did it while they were at school. Well... today I had a very enthusiastic audience since it is rainy out. I'll just show you the layout that I did about it now. Pretty cute! Bryce took the pictures for me while I was keeping it spinning for him. Kit used Game on by mlg scraps

I'm working on a project right now, but should be back again soon. Have a great day all!

teacher gifts

2009-06-10T19:54:00.003-04:00

Well, the end of the school year has come. I have one that is tickled to death that it is summer break, and the other is so bummed that you would think it was the end of the world!

Here is what the boys took to school today for their teachers. You can read Bryce's pretty well there. For Colin's I used a font called Penmanship Print that I thought was perfect for a Kindergartner. His is a poem that says...

When I first started Kindergarten

I couldn't have felt smaller

But I've been growing, growing-

And not just growing taller!

I've learned to write my name;

I've learned my numbers too.

And there are many other things

That I have learned to do.

Kindergarten is over now

But I am not afraid,

Because of the great foundation

to me that you gave.

~author unknown

Both boys then used my Wacom tablet to sign their own names to it. (That only took about 20 min each to get one that looked halfway decent! Finally I had them put each letter of their name on a different layer and moved them together afterwards. Otherwise we might still be working on it!)

The boys said that both teachers really liked them, and the one even had note cards with her at school and wrote him a thank you note.

June DTW and party info!

2009-05-29T08:08:00.006-04:00

Hi everyone! It's nearly the end of May so I have your June Desktop Wallpaper for you! For this month I have made two versions. Pretty much the only difference between them is that one uses yellow and the other uses pink (hit the Creative Dream Team Blog to grab the pink one) as accents. Here is the yellow one, starring my boys fishing with Papa last summer (my version only). You can grab it here, but don't run off just yet!

I have some news you won't want to miss.On Monday June 1st we are having a PARTY at Creative Dreams. Anne has a new kit coming out and we want to celebrate (otherwise known as an excuse to have a party). Hop on over there for chats and noon and 9pm central time. There will be lots of fun and goodies to be had! We will be waiting to see you on Monday!

Road Trip

2009-05-26T14:00:00.003-04:00

Hope everyone had a good holiday weekend. We went and stayed a few days at the family cottage on Indian Lake. It was our first road trip with Dozer. I am very pleased to be able to say that he did extremely well. He got sick twice on the way there (I am thinking that maybe he was upset thinking that he was headed back to Angels for Animals) but not at all on the way home. The boys spent half of the trip home asleep and draped over top of him. He was very good natured about it, and just sat there quietly. In fact the LO here to the right is from the trip where they boys used him as a pillow.

He also did really well while we were there. He got along well with the other dogs, didn't bark too much (pretty much only when people went walking by and when a new dog showed up) and then for only a minute or two. He didn't whine and was great at night. We were very proud of him.

Well, I still have a good bit to catch up on here so I'm gonna dash. Have a good day everyone!

Quick note

2009-05-22T18:24:00.003-04:00

Don't mind my changes the next week or two to my blog template. I am playing around and learning how to do this stuff. And oh yeah, I used the soon to be released kit here on the blog, so there are a couple more hints for ya!

Also a big thank you to Amanda at kevin & amanda for her wonderful tutorial on changing fonts! Be sure to hop over there and check it out. Scroll down and click on tutorials on the right side.

Nuts!

2009-05-19T07:36:00.004-04:00

As in my family. Full of them. I made this new layout with the intent of it being a fun and quirky family tree. When I saw the new Pressed Petals kit this is what came to mind. I had to pick up a few pieces elsewhere. Credits: Clothesline Breeze - Pressed petals designs, tree trunk - simplicity - A Work in Progress (Vicki Parker), Word art - Elegant Word Art, font used - Angelina. All of the photos were taken last summer. Yes, I realize that Kate's and my hubby's are missing, I didn't have ANY pictures of either of them. I will work harder next time to get at least one. I think I may make other versions of it during different seasons.

teaser with freebie

2009-05-13T15:40:00.006-04:00

Ok, so I have been a really bad blogger the last couple of months. I'm not sure that there really is an excuse, but I do promise to try and do better. Anne at Creative Dreams has a new kit coming out soon so that means that I have a teaser or two for you. I'll give you one today and another in a post soon.

I also thought I would share the word art that I made for this layout. You can get it here.

2009-04-20T21:32:00.003-04:00

Wow. Where have I been this last month? I'm really not even sure myself. After that big creative burst I guess I hit a mini slump. How scary is it that I can't really remember what I did the first couple week of April? I know that on the Thursday night before Easter I took the boys to Grandma's house for a few days. She brought them back home on Easter Sunday, and I made my first "real" Easter meal (you know, something resembling traditional because it wasn't just us). Then on Monday we went to Angels for Animals and got our first dog. We were a little concerned with how the boys would react. For Bryce it was love at first sight. Colin was definitely a bit scared, but he did want to bring the dog home. We have had Dozer a week now and he is a great fit for us. Here are a couple of layouts I have done of him. The story of his name is in the one.

I am sure I will have more LO's of him in the near future. I promise to try and be a better blogger!

New Challenges and LOTW!

2009-03-31T20:17:00.004-04:00

Remember my LO titled "fishing with Papa" a couple of posts ago? It was picked as the Layout of the Week over at DSO!!! This is first for me and it took me about an hour to be calmed down enough to respond. As a side note, the boys now think that they are famous, lol.

A couple of new April challenges are up in the forums. First off I am hostessing another Quick Page Exchange this month and decided to go with a bright and cheerful kit called Popsicle Paradise. It can be gotten here and here. When you make a quickpage and send it to me you will receive ALL of the quickpages for the month, early in May. And here is one that I have made to get us started.

I am also bringing the color challenge back to Creative Dreams. I have picked a color palette and would love to see what you can do with it! Just for participating ... this month only you will receive not one but 2 posting bonuses!

Be sure to stop by the forums to check out all the details!

Catch!

2009-03-29T15:28:00.003-04:00

Here is another LO I did last week that I am rather pleased with. The pictures are of my son out throwing and catching the football with his dad. I thought that the first week kits from the Design Star Competition had the perfect color palette for these pictures so I went looking through them to make my layout. Credits: Design Stars numbers 9, 12 and 55 (Sahlin Studio) competition kits at Scrap Matters, Shel Belle Scraps - Date stamp, Gunhild Storeide - Staples & Stitching, Atomic cupcake - scalloped edge and rub on action

Also be sure to stop over at the Dream Team Blog. I put up a new desktop wallpaper for April. I am also trying to decide which kit I want to use for the next quickpage exchange, so be sure to check back around April 1st and see which one it is. I would love to see more people jump into that challenge!

A first... (freebie)

2009-03-26T16:51:00.006-04:00

Well, I have a first for you all today. I decided to jump in and make a mini kit for the color challenge at DSO. I have made some quickpages with Creative Dreams kits and given them away, as well as making things for my own LO's ( I even gave one of those away) but this is the first actual kit that I have made. All of it is made from photos that I took last summer. I hope that you enjoy it, and please don't be too hard on me.

You can grab your freebie here! And here is a layout that I made with my kit.

Also don't forget to check out the Quick Page Exchange at Creative Dreams this month. There is still a little time left to get in on it!

Catch of the Day

2009-03-25T13:19:00.006-04:00

I just can't seem to stop using this kit! I absolutely love it. For years my Dad was a fish biologist for the ODNR so I have hundreds of fishing pictures that span 4 generations. I can see myself coming back to this kit time after time. But anyways I have two more layouts using this kit to share today.

Credits for fishing with Papa: What a Catch - Pressed Petals Designs, Date Stamps - Shel Belle Scraps, Paris Template - Joni Gray Digi Scraps, 4mellisa alpha - Ellie Lash

Credits for What a Catch! : Template 1 - Pressed Petals Designs, Catch of the Day - Pressed Petals Designs, Date Stamp - Shel Belle Scraps

** photo pulled for publication**

Daydreaming boy

2009-03-24T13:18:00.008-04:00

I have been busy working on challenges over at DSO. Here are two of the ones I finished up today.

For the DSO Lyric challenge I came up with this one. It took me forever to figure out what I wanted to do with this photo. I wanted to use this photo, but I didn't know how I was going to make it work. Well, last night I was looking at all of the Design Star Competition kits over at Scrap Matters and I saw a fishing kit by Pressed Petals Design called Catch of the Day.

And for the Quote Challenge I did a LO of my niece. This was taken last summer in the water feature at the Tennessee Aquarium. Credits : Heart - A work in Progress - Spring romance kit, Brushes (on dk purple paper) - Amanda Rockwell - WC brushes, Bracket text path - Just 2 More Things Design, everything else - Jessica Dixon - Winter Solstice kit and add on.

I also made up the April desktop wallpaper that I will be giving away. Look for it in the next week or so!

Aliens Among Us

2009-03-12T14:52:00.002-04:00

It appears that tease time is over. Anne has the new kit Aliens Among Us up for grabs in the store a little before I expected it (always a pleasant surprise!). So on that note here are my remaining two layouts. I had so much fun playing with this kit and I think you all will too!

5 faves

2009-03-11T16:08:00.006-04:00

One of the challenges over at DSO this month is to do a LO about your current 5 favorite things. After some thought I managed to weed it down to 5 (family counts as 1 and not 3, right?). I decided that I really wanted to use Sara at Sweet Blossom Designs kit Bohemia. There are just sooo many great papers and fun elements in that kit. Here is what I came up with. I also used one of Nicky's templates CD #05 (it can be found on the Dream Team blog). Aren't the papers and elements just wonderful? I decided to make myself a new avatar for the various boards with this kit as well.

The March QuickPage Exchange challenge is still going on over at Creative Dreams. Be sure to stop in and give it a try. I would love to see what you can come up with!

Pssst!

2009-03-10T13:24:00.005-04:00

Pssst! Want to see a sneak peek of the kit to be released later this month at Creative Dreams? I am having a LOT of fun with it and already have 3 layouts done in less than 24 hours! I'm gonna be a tease though and only show them to you one at a time. Any guesses? Yes, I chose the LO with the least giveaways first. Evil aren't I? I think it will be a big winner, especially if you have boys at home. Be sure to keep checking back to see the others!

2009-03-06T11:44:00.004-05:00

I am finally getting back into the groove! My first challenge at Creative Dreams came to a close and we had a decent turn out for the first month. There is a new challenge this month that you should come and check out. Here is just one of the quickpages that you will get just for participating! (credits: Thoughts of Spring kit and add on - Creative Dreams)

I have also been working on some of the challenges at DSO. There have been some great ones this month and I am having a ball working on them.

For the template challenge I did this one. (Credits: Photobooth 1 template - Bunny Cates, BG paper - Fun in the sun - Creative Dreams, Alpha - For Mellisa - Studio Flergs, hat - ME!, Date Stamp - lgperspectives, rub on action - Atomic Cupcake)

And for Doodles Dares I made what is probably one of my favorite layouts to date. (Credits: Pocket Full of Sunshine - Andrea Dickenson, For Mellisa - Studio Flergs, Grosgrain - Creative Dreams)

Be sure to stop over and check out my challenge this month!

My niece (Little Plumber Girl)

2009-02-27T17:43:00.004-05:00

I just have to share the LO I did today featuring my niece. I just love how it turned out.

Isn't it the cutest? I need more pictures of her so I can play with more of the "girly" kits I have downloaded. In fact that and the font challenge over at DSO are what got this LO done. The kit is Chloe's Garden by Ellie Lash. The title font is the one from the challenge, 4my lover. I loved how it tied in with the hearts on the frame. You can't really tell it here, because it is so small, but I shaded each of the pink hearts in the title to match the hearts in the frame and flower.

Also be sure to stop on over at the CD Forums and check out the Quickpage Exchange. There are some wonderful quickpages there that you can get if you submit one of your own. I am keeping it open through Sunday night since the end of the month falls over the weekend.

Valentines

2009-02-09T22:49:00.004-05:00

I am sooo proud of my little man. Today was his birthday, and he was home from school sick. So not a good birthday. I had to go to the grocery store today so of course he had to come along. He was sooo good and really didn't ask for much at all. We did pick up his Valentines for school while we were there though. He got right to work on them after helping me put away groceries. Here is the LO I made with the pictures I took of him working on them. I just had to share this.

Credits: Fonts used - Eras Light ITC, 4 my lover and Honey Script; Glitter spatters - Gunhild Storeide; Date it Stamps - lg perspectives; Staples - Scrap Journal - LiviaY Designs; Everything else - Putting on the Glitz Collab - AWP's Vicki Parker and Charlie's Designs

Another desktop wallpaper freebie

2009-02-07T21:10:00.005-05:00

I have another desktop wallpaper to share with you all. I made it for some friends of the family, and thought why not offer it here. This one is a little different in that it contains calendars for Feb-April. I have 2 more similar photos that I will be using to make the May-Aug and the Sept - Dec versions with closer to those months. They will all 3 be made with photos of dragonflies that I took this past June in between baiting and taking fish off hooks for my boys on a fishing trip!

If you like it be sure to grab it here!

New Challenge at Creative Dreams

2009-02-02T12:42:00.001-05:00

Hi! I would love to have everyone pop on over to the forums and check out the new challenge posted for February. Its a pretty simple one, basically you make a quick page and send it to me, and at the end of the month you receive a link to download the quick pages that everyone submitted. How great it that? Do one and get back many. Best of all the kit that I chose to feature this month is available free of charge! Be sure to stop on over and check out all the details. I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Double Heart Frame freebie

2009-01-30T19:58:00.003-05:00

Today while I was working on making my new desktop wallpaper I created this frame. I am really rather pleased with how it turned out so I decided to make it available individually as well as part of the wallpaper. To get to the wallpaper click here. And now for the frame, you can grab it here!

I've had a house full of sick people since my last post and of course that meant I had to get sick as well, so have not gotten too much accomplished. I do hope to have more for you all soon!

Scrap Pad Challenge

2009-01-16T14:19:00.003-05:00

After being a long time lurker / freebie grabber over at A Work in Progress I decided to enter a challenge that Vicki is hosting at The Scrap Pad. For this challenge the only kits / items that you could use are the ones that are in the Jan/Feb Scrap N' Art issue. The hardest part for me was picking just one subject so there will likely be more entries by me in the near future. I just loved this picture from our extended family Christmas party so I decided it was a good starting point. On a side note, why is it that I can never get this good of a picture when he doesn't have a goofy wig on? Anyhow, stop on over there and check out the challenges.

I think someone lost something....

2009-01-10T09:03:00.003-05:00

and I would really like to return it to you. Here is what I saw when I got out of bed this morning...

and they are still calling for another 6-10 inches today. I would very much like to return this "gift" to sender

only a year behind...

2008-12-30T20:26:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a great holiday. We had a pretty nice one and it was kind of cool having the
grandparents come to our house for a change. I think the boys really liked all that they received and the have given me many scrap worthy pictures to play with in the near future.

I did a new layout today, and I'm only scrapping pictures from Christmas a year ago! When I saw Vicki's (AWP) new kit, Bright Christmas I knew it would work well with my pictures from last year. The colors were just right for it. Since time and patience is at a premium these days (Come on Jan 5th I need some quiet time!) while the kids are on vacation I decided not to reinvent a wheel and used Scrapmuss Designs template (muss_temp01).

Here's an appropriate one!

2008-12-22T08:02:00.005-05:00

I don't think there could be a better day yet this season to release this quick page. I woke up to the news of unusually cold temperatures throughout the entire U.S. today. We hit 1 degree last night with wind chills of around 20 below! And boy was it windy! We had the power go out for a minute or so at least 3 times yesterday. Once mid afternoon, once 10 minutes from the end of the movie while we were watching The Dark Knight and right after we finished up the second movie. My other half was like did you shut off the lights/TV all at once, or is it the power again? Come on, I'm good, but no one is quite that good! We may have lost it a few more times overnight, I wouldn't know about that. Anyhow, lets get on to the quick page which is what you really want. It is made with the newly released Frost kit by Creative Dreams.

Here is where you can grab it!