Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Max at 9.5

Earlier this month I was at the park with my kids. Max and I were swinging and he asked that I take his picture. The sun was low in the sky and it was creating a really cool flare effect. I just kept taking pictures on my phone until we got one that Max and I both liked. It took almost 100 shots to get this photo, but Max was in the mood to be photographed. Got to love that.


I started out this layout by cutting strips of paper behind the photo, but it felt a little boring. To fancy things up, I pulled out my hole punch and punched a few random circles and then flipped them over to reveal the reverse side of the paper.


It was a pretty simple technique and it was perfect for showcasing more of the fun paper patterns. I want to give this a try with some other punched shapes.


Max gave me a short list of a few of his favorite things that was used for the journaling. He said his favorite color is a mix of blue and green and he decided that it was close to turquoise, but wasn't quite sure if that was the right shade. Nothing wrong with being specific on a favorite color!


Of course, he loves pizza, burgers and sports. He didn't list video games or t.v. shows, so hopefully that means we are doing a good job keeping him active and away from too much screen time.

Layout supplies /// Field Notes Kit /// Go Somewhere Kit

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Celebrating Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day to those in the US celebrating today. Wishing you a wonderful day with family remembering those who have come before us and those who have sacrificed so much for the freedom we enjoy today.

In honor of Memorial Day, Scrapbook Circle is offering 20% off the Let Freedom Ring Kit. Just enter freedom20 in the promo box at checkout for the discount. It's good today only.

The kit is full of some favorite patriotic red, white and blue items.


So far I've used the kit to create a layout about our 4th of July last year and a banner to decorate our kitchen counter.



The Scrapbook Circle printable is one of my favorite things in the kit. I've already printed off two of them and my print another page for Project Life.  I love that I can just keep printing the page!

I used the canvas star album and the red glitter ribbon in the kit to create the base of a banner. 


Since all of the stars were plain canvas color, I decided to use some mist to color some of the canvas. The canvas took color very well and I loved the results of the red, white and blue stars.










For many of the stars,  I sewed the paper right onto the canvas. It was a quick and easy way to secure things. Tacky glue worked on a few other elements.

I can't wait to make more with this kit!

Remember the the freedom20 code is only valid on the Let Freedom Ring today.

Wishing you a safe holiday!

Friday, May 25, 2012

June Kit: Field Notes

The June kit, Field Notes, debuted today on the Scrapbook Circle site. I'm so excited to share this kit. Although at first glace you may think it is only a travel themed kit, it really isn't limited to that.


For example, here is one page I did with the kit:




Not travel themed at all! I've also made this layout about Max winning a 50/50 raffle.

There is also a cardstock add-on and an embellishment add-on

The embellishment add-on, Go Somewhere, includes one of my favorite new products: Heidi Swapp Color Magic Memory Files. These start out white, but you can mist, ink or paint them to create any color you want. There is a resist on the folders so that some of it stays white. So fun!

I've started a mini album using the file folders and I'll be sharing more in June on the Scrapbook Circle blog. Here's a peek at the start of the album.


Wishing you a happy and safe weekend!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

What's for Dinner?

This week I decided to try making four new recipes for dinner. Since I don't always have time to be creative with paper and scrapbooking, I like to use the kitchen as another creative outlet. We have to eat, so it may as well be interesting.

I like to write out our weekly meals on a chalkboard hanging in our kitchen. It reminds me what I've planned and let's the family know "what's for dinner."


Since I'm always on the lookout for new recipes, I thought I'd share a few with you and hopefully give some new dinner ideas.

/// Monday Night ///

We grilled shrimp using this recipe from Everyday Food Magazine. It wasn't a hit with the kids, but my husband and I enjoyed it.



I also sliced up a couple of red bell peppers and put them on the grill. Once they were softened up a bit, I sprinkled the insides with a bit of feta and let it melt.

We also had couscous and watermelon.

/// Tuesday Night ///

This was a perfect summer pasta meal. Next time I think I'll add a splash of lemon juice.




/// Wednesday Snack ///

I've always wanted to make granola bars, but for some reason it hasn't happened. When I saw this recipe from the Orangette blog, I knew I needed to make them.


These did not disappoint! I am trying to show restrained and not eat the entire pan right now. The dark chocolate really makes these amazing. This is being added to my rotation of recipes.

/// Wednesday Dinner ///

I wasn't sure how well these would be received since there are a few meat loves in the family, but everyone ate these and 4 of us really liked them. Definitely want to make these again. The only alteration to the recipe was that I used Italian bread crumbs instead of plain since that's what we already had in the house.



/// Thursday Night ///

Tonight was are going to try these hand pies. I'm subbing the beef for turkey since that's what we have in our freezer.

It's been fun cooking up some new dished this week!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

31 Things /// Read

This month I've signed up for Ali Edwards' 31 Things class at Big Picture Classes. The focus of this class is writing our stories and I felt that I could use an extra push in documenting more through writing.

I don't plan on sharing all of my writing this month, but thought that I would share one of the topics that I've written about so far. The class challenge us to take one photo to pair with the daily writing assignment.

Topic: READ



ONE /// Reading is something that I’ve always enjoyed. I love being consumed by reading a wonderful fiction book filled with interesting characters and exciting plots.

TWO /// I go in book reading spurts. There are times when I just want to keep reading and other times when I don’t read very much for a month or two.

THREE /// There is a pile of unread books on a bookshelf in my bedroom just waiting for me to read them. I always have a book on my nightstand that I’ve started reading.

FOUR /// I have been in the habit of buying most books I want to read from Amazon, but have now accumulated a little pile and need to stop ordering for now. I should make the library my go to place for books, but for some reason I haven’t gotten into the flow of checking out and then returning books on time.

FIVE /// My favorite book? I don’t know if I could name just one. Some of my favorites are The Book Thief, A Homemade Life, Harry Potter, Unbroken, These is My Words and Pope Joan.

SIX /// I’ve recently read all of the books in the Hunger Games Trilogy and I’ve just started Divergent which Audrey says is her favorite book.

SEVEN /// Sometimes I like having a magazine to read at times when I can’t sit and be uninterrupted. Magazines are perfect while we are sitting out at the pool watching the kids swim. My current magazine subscriptions are Martha Stewart Living, Everyday Food and Whole Living.

EIGHT /// In addition to reading print, I also spend quite a bit of time reading blogs and other online information.  My Google reader is almost always full with a few hundred blog posts to read and I rarely get to all of them.

NINE /// I haven’t yet read a book on an e-reader, but may do it this year. Ward has a digital copy of Steve Job’s biography and that is on my reading list.

TEN ///I recently listened to my first audio book (The House at Riverton) and LOVED it. The only problem was that it was so good that it took over the week I listened to the book. I was always looking for an opportunity to listen to the story. Folding laundry has never been so interesting.

ELEVEN /// I try to read something from the scriptures each day. Somedays I do better than others.

TWELVE /// At night before the kids go to bed, Max and I have been reading the 39 Clues books together. We are currently on book 9 out of 10 of the series.

THIRTEEN /// One of my favorite things about going on vacation is that I usually bring along a new book to read. 

It is a great exercise to sit and write about topics that may not get a lot of attention. Looks like registration is open for 31 Things until tomorrow. I highly recommend this class.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Happy 12th Birthday, Audrey!

It's a beautiful and sunny Friday here. Today we are celebrating my daughter Audrey's 12th birthday. I really can't believe how time flies.

We started off the morning with some homemade berry muffins and a few presents. One of her presents is to go and get a pedicure with me. Pretty much a present for me too!


I thought it would be fun to share a layouts I made for Audrey when she was born and on her first few birthdays. Although my style of scrapbook has changed quite a bit, I still love looking at the photos and reading the journaling. I'm so thankful for scrapbooking!


So thankful for these pages and the memories they bring back. I'm also grateful to be a mom to such an amazing, thoughtful and creative daughter!


Thursday, May 17, 2012

Exploring the Desert

As I mentioned yesterday, we went on an outing to the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden last week. We did spend the majority of our time in the butterfly exhibit, but we also walked around the desert gardens for a half an hour. It was around 100 degrees, so we really didn't want to spend much more time outside.


I love going to the Desert Botanical Garden because it really shows off the beauty of a huge variety of desert plants. When I was a kid I used to think that the desert wasn't very pretty, but now I love it. It is so unique and really does have it's own beauty.


Although the desert plants are beautiful, the heat is not so pretty. We are getting ourselves mentally ready for the next 5 months of 100 degree+ weather. Luckily we have a swimming pool!

Layout supplies /// The Story Kit /// Life Documented Kit

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The Butterfly Pavilion

Last Friday a friend called and asked if my kids and I would like to join her and her kids on an outing to the Desert Botanical Garden that afternoon. The motivator for the trip was that it was free admission day. Got to love saving a little money while having fun.

We decided to surprise the kids and signed them all out of school early and headed up to the gardens. Audrey came out of her class worried that something was wrong because we never sign our kids out of school. Luckily it was a fun surprise!


One of the things we were most excited about seeing at the garden was the Butterfly Pavilion. Hundreds of butterflies are enclosed in a large greenhouse structure that we got to go in. The girls were excited that butterflies landed on them. We all went a little crazy taking pictures of the butterflies.


The butterflies were all so beautiful. Their vibrant colors are amazing. We spent most of our trip to the botanical gardens enjoying the butterfly exhibit.


It was a perfect way to spend a Friday afternoon. It seems that we are so busy now with many activities for our kids that we don't go on as many field trips like this like we used to do when the kids were younger. I want to make more of an effort for outings where we get to explore interesting places around town.

Layout Supplies /// The Story Kit /// Life Documented Kit /// Washi Tape from Bella Blvd

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Happy Mother's Day

We had a nice day celebrating Mother's Day a couple of days ago. My mom and Ward's mom came over along with our siblings who live nearby and my dad and cousin too.

Everyone (except the mom's) contributed to a delicious Greek themed dinner of grilled chicken, homemade pitas, potatoes, hummus, grapes and yogurt sauce. My dad even made baklava from scratch for dessert!


After dinner we took the annual Mother's Day pictures with the kids, their moms and their grandmas. 


The kids were WILD during the pictures. They didn't want to do it, but didn't seem to understand that the sooner we got a decent shot, the sooner we'd be finished. Here's a pretty good pictures that demonstrates some of the kids' energy.


Love that crazy kid!

My husband and kids spoiled me with thoughtful gifts and flowers.


My mom brought over a picture of the two of us when I was a baby. So fun!


Of course, I put together a couple of Mother's Day cards for my mom and Ward's mom.



Happy Mother's Day to all of my friends who love, nurture and teach children!

card supplies /// The Story Kit, White Flower from Maya Road

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Project Life: April 29 - May 5

Another week of Project Life is now complete! Hannah got into the project this week by suggesting that we use the CarpiSun wrapper in the "life album." Love that she is thinking about adding things to the album. (I did cut the back off of the CapriSun wrapper and wash it out, so we won't have any juice drips in the album.)


Lots of good things went on last week and it's nice to have them captured all in one place.


This week I just pulled product that was sitting on my desk to fill in the pages. Some of the paper is brand new (from Heidi Swapp) and other paper is years old (Love, Elise from KI Memories.) It all worked together.


This week we discovered a nest with eggs in the wreath on our front door. The only problem is that when the mother bird is sitting in the nest and our front door flies open, the bird flies into the house. She's flown in three times in the past week and it can be a challenge to get her back outside.


Audrey's 12th Birthday Party /// Random Shot Taken in Kids' Bathroom /// Lunch Date at Liberty Market



 Last Basketball Game + Trophies /// Chandler Children's Choir Concert


Tickets to the CCC Concert /// Choir Friends


Max Winning the 50/50 Raffle /// Basketball Snacks

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Several of the supplies used this week are older and are no longer available, but here's a look at some current product used on these pages.

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