Monday, May 31, 2010

It is Great to Be 8!

My sweet nephew turned 8 years old today. We wish we could be with him to celebrate. Unfortunatly we live on opposite sides of the country and haven't seen him for almost a year and a half.

Luckily, we will get to see him (and his family!) next month. We are so excited.

I did make him a birthday card and have a present for him. Now I just need to get it in the mail!

My card was inspired by the challenge on the Cards blog to make a card with a window. I haven't played along with their challenges before, but I decided to join in on the fun this week.

Here's the front of the card.

Here's the inside. It just seemed like the inside needed a little decorating too. I left room on the top fold of the card to write a birthday message.
What a fun challenge! Hopefully I will play along with Cards again soon.

Supplies: Paper: The Girls' Paperie; Alpha: Cosmo Cricket

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Sunday Morning Pancakes

The first thing I heard this morning (while I was still in bed trying to sleep in a little) was "Mom, what's for breakfast? I'm sooooooo hungry." I was able to get a little more sleep, but then pulled myself out of bed to figure out what was for breakfast.

I was in the mood to try something new, so my son and I browsed through a few breakfast recipes at Tasty Kitchen.

As soon as he saw this recipe, he wanted me to make it. He loves pancakes and berries, so this was the perfect combo for him. He was such a great helper and got out all of the ingredients, cracked the eggs and helped clean up.

I must admit that I don't really get excited about pancakes. I will make them for my kids once every couple of weeks and I don't even take a bite of one. Maybe it's just seems like I'm eating a bunch of white flour and it doesn't sound very appetizing.

The new recipe we found had quite a bit of oats plus wheat flour, so I was excited to give these a try.

We only had regular oats (not quick oats) so I just let the batter sit for about 10 minutes after mixing it up so the oats could soften in the milk. It seemed to work because they really were delicious. They were very hearty and filling. The berry sauce was a little tart and just slightly sweet>>>a perfect combination!

And just to make them a little more tasty, we added a little whipped cream to the top of the berries.My five year old ate four of these. So not only did I enjoy them, but I'm pretty sure they were a hit with the kids too!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Birthdays and Graduation

I hope you've been having a great weekend so far. We enjoyed a graduation party and one daughter got to go to a birthday party last night. I love getting to spend time with our family and friends!

Here's a look at the birthday card I put together for my daughter's friend.The Echo Park papers have been so fun to play with. They are just so bright, playful and happy.

I also put a card together for the graduation party.For the background on this card, I used the cover sheet that came with the collection pack. It had strips of all of the paper so you could see what paper comes in the pack. Plus, it even had the blue scallop along the side. I love it when I can use the packaging on a project!

The paper, alpha, journaling card, banner stickers all came from Scrapbook Circle's June add-on kit from Echo Park. The little "celebrate" and "happy birthday" stickers are Girls' Paperie from the June SC kit.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Last Day of School

Well, the last day of school is here and summer has officially begun. We are starting off our weekend tonight and tomorrow with two birthday parties and a graduation party. We wouldn't want to sit around an be bored! Ha!

Wanted to share a card I made for my daughter to give to her preschool teacher. I can't believe all of my kids will be in elementary school next year. Sometimes I think I'll be a little sad that all of my kids are in school, but other times I think about all of the other things I will do while they are in school. School starts up at the end of July, so it won't be long before our summer break is over and I'll see what it's like having all three kids in school all day.

Hope you have some fun weekend plans!

Card supplies: Paper (Girls' Paperie) and Black/White Tape (Pink Paislee) are from the June Scrapbook Circle kit. Tiny alphas: Cosmo Cricket.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

No. 1 Teacher

I'm not sure where the school year has gone, but tomorrow is my kids' last day of school.

I was going to do teacher gifts, but the kids' classes had some leftover money from the class fund we all put money into at the beginning of the year and that money will be buying a nice teacher gift.

Even though we aren't doing a gift, I think it is important that my kids each write a thank you note to their teacher. We've have had amazing teachers this year and I want them to know they are appreciated. So far, I've put one thank you card together. Looks like tonight I'm going to make two more.

I did pick up a small package of chocolate truffles for each teacher so the kids would have a little something to give with their card. You can never go wrong with chocolate, right?

Everything on the card came from the June Scrapbook Circle kit.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Simple Cards

If you are looking for a quick cards idea, I have one to share with you today.

This isn't one of those fancy, layered designs, but just a quick, simple way to make a handmade greeting.

If you have a square punch, that will make this card very easy.

Just punch 5 squares. I used my 1.75 inch square punch.

Arrange the squares on a folder piece of cardstock.
In the open place where you don't have a square, find a sticker or other little embellishment to fill the space.

For the heart and scallop on this card, I cut the designs from fuzzy white vinyl with my Silhouette and then misted them with Glimmer Mist to coordinate with the cards.
These are great for any occasion!

Supplies: White Cardstock: Bazzill, Patterned Paper: Echo Park add-on for the June Scrapbook Circle kit.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Packing Kits and They're Ready to Go

Today Jennie and Diana helped me pack up all of the Scrapbook Circle June and July kits. I just love being surrounded by piles of scrapbooking supplies. There's just something cool about piles and piles of patterned paper around me.

Here's a look at the June kit. I'll have to share some July peeks soon.

More pictures of the kit can be found here.

Now I just need to find some time to play a little more with this kit.

Monday, May 24, 2010

What is Love?

When I pulled out the Distressed Couture Glitz sticker sheet and saw the "What is Love?" sticker, I instantly knew that I had the title for my next layout.

I decided to go with a few photos of my husband and I on the layout. Sadly, I discovered that we hardly have any pictures of just the two of us. Now I've set a goal to make more of an effort to hand the camera over so that both of us can be together in a few photos.For the larger photo here, I had to crop the two of us from a photo of our family. Luckily our heads were close enough that the crop worked!
How good are you are getting in photos with people who are important to you? Will you join me in trying to jump in a few more photos with those we love?

Supplies: Everything is from Glitz. Distressed Couture Accent Stickers, Distressed Couture Rub-ons, Distressed Couture Titles, Black Frosting, Glitzers, Black Round & Red Square Teeny Alphas. Distressed Couture Paper: Blocks, Floral, Stripe, Vines, Scrolls.

Be sure to stop by the Glitz blog for more ideas from the other Glitz DT ladies!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Carrot Top

My sister, Kristen, who is traveling in Spain called via Skype this afternoon. It was fun to talk to her and hear about the yummy chocolate & churros she had eaten earlier in the day.

I mentioned to Kristen that I had my hair cut yesterday and when I came home my youngest daughter said that my new hairstyle looked like a "carrot top." (I think she means it's like the short green leafy part on the top of a carrot.)

We got quite a laugh out of that comment. Kristen wanted me to text her a photo of my new do and I thought I'd share the photo with you.

Do you think "carrot top" when you see it? Kids say the funniest things!It is MUCH shorter that I was thinking that it would be, but I'm getting used to it. I was thinking more chin level, but it's up to my ears. Oh well.

In other news, my first Glitz design team post goes up tomorrow (Monday) morning! Loved playing with their Distressed Couture line for my first layout. Stop by the Glitz blog if you get a chance and let me know what you think. :)

Hope you have a fantastic week!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Party Time

My daughter's party was so much fun last night. The girls really seemed to have fun crafting. They each made a couple of scrabble necklaces. They also really got into misting their white fuzzy vellum. They put the vellum on glass jars from IKEA and it was so fun seeing how the girls each put their own project together.I really enjoyed teaching the girls how to do a couple of crafts they'd never done before. Good times were had by all!

Friday, May 21, 2010

Party Prep

Tonight we're having a birthday party for my daughter who just turned 10 this week. She wanted a swimming + craft party, so that's what we're doing.

The swimming part is pretty easy, so I've been working on the craft part of the party for a couple of days.

Our first project is going to be making scrabble tile necklaces. I've pre-cut all of the paper, so hopefully this will be easy enough for them.I'm especially excited about our 2nd project. I've cut a sheet of fuzzy white vinyl with my Silhouette for each of the girls with their name and a bunch of flowers and hearts.
The girls are going to use glimmer mist to dye the vinyl and we were are then going to put the vinyl on glass jars from IKEA.

My younger daughter and I did a test on her sheet this morning. I mostly did this so that she can make a jar, but I won't have to help her during the party while I'm helping the party girls. She requested "rainbow" and I love how it turned out. Now we just need to move the vinyl to the jar.I'm thinking the jars will be a fun place for the girls to keep their necklaces and other trinkets.

Just a couple more hours and we will be misting, gluing and then swimming!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Frozen Hot Chocolate

My sisters have talked about having frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3 in NYC and I must admit that I was a bit jealous that I hadn't been in on the fun.

Last September, my husband and I had a quick weekend trip Las Vegas. While we were walking around I saw a restaurant called Serendipity 3. I wondered if it could be the same as the NYC restaurant. I called my sister and confirmed that the menu was the same.

Of course, we had to order the famous frozen hot chocolate. It came in a huge overflowing bowl of chocolate goodness. It was amazingly rich. We couldn't finish it. I can't wait until I can go back.

For now, I at least have this layout to remind me of our time at Serendipity.I used the paper line from the new company, Echo Park. Really loving the bright colors. One of my favorite things that came in the collection pack was a 12 x 12 sheet of alphas. It's packed with a lot of letters in many colors and both upper and lower case.If you are ever in Vegas, I'd highly recommend a stop at Serendipity 3. We only ate dessert, but the main food menu looked delicious too. It's right in front of Ceasar's Place on the strip.

While looking up their website, I came across this mix at Amazon.com. I doubt it's as good as being at the restaurant, but I may have to give it a try.

Scrapbook Circle has this Sweet Summer Time collection pack from Echo paper in their add-ons section.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Dress Up Play Time

A couple of days ago my two girls decided that it would be fun to dress up and have a photo shoot. My older daughter was the costume designer and photographer. My youngest daughter was very happy to model and pose for her sister.

Here's a look at a few of my favorite shots from the girls' play time.I love the photos with the serious faces. Don't you think the necklace hanging from the hat is a nice touch? Funny girls.

Can't wait to do a layout with these photos soon!

I used this House of 3 collage story board kit in Photoshop to arrange the photos.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Fresh Jam

Last month I talked about making strawberry jam. I must say that we have been enjoying the jam this past month. My kids LOVE putting it on pancakes in the morning.

I just printed off a few of our jam making photos for a layout and this is what I came up with. Really loving the Jenni Bowlin banners and now they are in new colors! Cool.It was fun punching and folding bits of paper to make the flower embellishment. I really like how well this paper flows together even though the patterns are quite different.

All of the supplies used on the layout came from the Jenni Bowlin Play Date SC add-on.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Christmas Album Pages

A few years ago I started making the grandparents a scrapbook page of each of our kids for Christmas. So each year, they get to add a new page to their album. It's a fun way to take the growth of the kids. The past year, I totally dropped the ball. Honestly, I just forgot about it.

My mom has nicely asked a few times since Christmas if I would make my kids' pages for her album. A couple of days ago the kids' Christmas pages finally made it to the top of my list and her pages are now complete.

I used photos that I took in November, so that the kids would look how they looked around Christmas time.I never try to coordinate the pages with each other because each of the kids has their own section in the album. It's a fun way to watch the kids grow each year.The pages are really simple and I just kept the focus on the photo.
I added a bit of journaling naming things the kids were interested in around that time.

Now I need to make another couple of sets for my husband's parents. Hopefully it doesn't take me another six months to get them done!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Playing with Photoshop + SC Peeks

I was playing around with this photo for a layout a couple of days ago.I really like this photo of my daughter with her gramps on his birthday. I felt that the photo was just a touch too orange, so I decided to play around with some of Pioneer Woman's Photoshop actions. I ran the "seventies" action and then the photo looked like this.I love the "old" look this gives the photo and how it brightened up the photo. I love playing with photos in Photoshop!

Did you see that Scrapbook Circle has their June peeks up? So fun! Lots of Girl's Paperie, October Afternoon and Pink Paislee. Love it all!

Plus there are some great add-on kits filled with new Jenni Bowlin Play Date and Echo Park Sweet Summertime. Take a look!

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Misting Class with Heidi Swapp

Tonight, Diana and I had a great time taking a misting class from Heidi at Scrapbooks Etc.

We got this box of goodies. We altered an album with LOTS of misting. We had three 2 ounce bottles of ink and they were each half gone by the time class was over.

Diana and I with one of the goodies boxes.Lots of glimmer misting was going on.
Fun night filled with lots of great ideas. Now I need to buy more glimmer mist colors!This is where I got the frames for these photos.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

5 Years Old

Okay, I've got to say that I really LOVE the new Girls' Paperie Holiday line mixed with bits of the Paper Girl line.

I met the paper deisgner, Margie, at CHA. It's always cool to meet someone who designed something I am creating with.Me, Margie, Jennie and Diana.

Here's a look at a layout I put together using her new lines.Loved using the bright colors with a black.white photo. All of the paper, stickers, alphas and die cuts are from The Girls' Paperie. The date/place paper is from Elle's Studio and the black/white tape I used on the photo corners is from Pink Paislee.
I hardly took any pictures when we celebrated my daughter's birthday and I was pretty worried when the pictures I did take turned out like this. Even tweaking the color in Photoshop wasn't going to save this picture.
I decided to play around with some actions I had downloaded from Pioneer Woman.

I gave the PW's B&W a try on this poor photo and ended up with this beauty after playing around with the brightness and contrast a bit. I love the edge burn, how the candles glow and light up my daughter's face. A bit of an imporovement? I was very happy that the photo was "saved" and I could now use it on a layout.

Good news...everything on this layout will be in the August Scrapbook Circle kit.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

More Silk Flowers

Okay, I will try and take a break from using the silk flower clips. Hopefully you aren't too tired of them yet!

I love the texture and dimention the flowers add to cards. Here's a card where I used a flocked My Mind's Eye polka dot paper for the background. Loving the flocked and silk textures here.Pretty simple card where I could use up a few scraps.
Hope you have a fabulous Monday!

Supplies: May Scrapbook Circle kit, silk foe flower and clip from Hobby Lobby. Digital photo frames from House of 3.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Shey B Birthday Bash

Good morning! Just wanted to stop in this morning and let you know that I'm giving away this kit on SheyB's blog.I just love the Crate paper in this kit. It is just so versatile. And that corrugated Jillibean alpha is one of my favorites too! Here's one of my layouts using the kit.To be entered to win, just stop by SheyB's blog and leave a comment. She's doing giveaways all week, so stop by again to see what else she is giving away.

I absolutely LOVE her camera straps. I haven't bought one yet because I just can't narrow it down to one favorite. Here are a few of my favorites.
This one.
This one.And this one.

What do you think? Pretty cool camera straps, right?

Hope you have a fantastic week!

P.S. For a bonus entry, you can leave a comment here too!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you are having a wonderful Mother's Day!

Just wanted to stop in and share the Mother's Day cards I made for my mom and my husband's mom. I'm still making use of those fun flower clips. I'm thinking I need some new colors!
I pulled out some older Jenni Bowlin paper and loved using it. The turquoise and orange color combo make me happy.I'm really liking the color gray lately. It's so sleek and elegant. I see more gray flowers in my future.Hope all of you mothers have a fabulous day!

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned Paper: Jenni Bowlin; Journaling Card: Jenni Bowlin, Fiskars punch. Silk for flower and clip from Hobby Lobby. Digital photo frames: House of 3.

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