28 February 2011

TallyScrapper Survivor Layouts Week 2

I forgot all about my blog last week. Oops! I am happy to say that the time was not spent wasted, as I removed 99% of the wallpaper in our kitchen. Soon comes removing the paneling and then getting reacquainted with my friend the electric sander. But, kitchen remodeling is a whole other post.



Here is my 2nd week layout for the Survivor challenge over at TallyScrapper. You can see my first week layout here. The challenge for my team this week was to use "That Just Happened," along with yellow, burgundy, olive green and orange.

Let me say, I am not proud of this layout. Well, the layout is fine... but the fact that this happened - not so good. Jeff and I took Grayson to the park on a Sunday. It was busy and kids were everywhere. I ran over and grabbed a geocache and came back. We were both keeping an eye on Grayson, but we got involved in conversation and looked up - he was nowhere to be found. My heart sank, I was litterally stuck in one spot frantically searching the play area for him. I decided to turn around and to my delight, there he was - throwing a little nerf football with a girl and her parents. I was scared to death. Even thinking of it now brings tears to my eyes. I failed as a mother and I know I'm not the first, but God I whole heartedly pray that is the one and only time I ever have that feeling.



23 February 2011

Pencil Lines DT Call Sketch

I was looking for a little inspiration last night to do a digital page, so I decided to grab the sketch for the Pencil Lines DT call. I doubt I will send it in, but it was a cute sketch... so I figured I would give it a go.


Here is what I did with it, and I like how it came out. I used my Spring Forward digital kit and changed the colors on it to match the picture a little better. Enjoy!


18 February 2011

Scrap That Baby - I Love Challenge

The challenge over at Scrap that Baby is to scrap about something you love. So I decided to go with Grayson's funny words. I love it and I know that as soon as I don't hear these fun little things anymore, its a sign he is growing up. :(




Supplies:
Junkitz Paper, Joann's Pins, Tim Holtz Film Strip, Prima Star & Crystals, AC Thickers & Felt, Remember When Cardstock, Kaiser Pearls, Viva Pearl Pen, Making Memories Alpha Stickers, Flower Soft Glitter, Unknown - mini flowers, chipboard & brad

17 February 2011

My Kids Define Me

My kids do define me - and I am okay with that. As a matter of fact, I absolutely love it (most days). The only thing I can confidently say I hate about being a mom is tripping over toys, especially hot wheels. Those things are evil and I know I'm going to land in the ER with a broken ankle one day.


So I joined the Tally Scrapper Survivor Challenge and the first challenge went live yesterday. I had a lot of fun creating this layout - and it makes me happy!



My Kids Define Me & I Love It!

Part of the challenge was to use recycled scrapbooking package. My package recycling is the acetate from some Momenta rubons previously used. They leave a little edging, so I just cut out the flourish shape and stapled it to my layout. I thought it was creative - and you can see it better in the second picture.




Supplies: Bazzill & Momenta Cardstock, Carolees Alphabet Stickers, Old Dictionary Pages, Nikki Sivils Flag & Burlap Buttons, Martha Stewart Garden Labels, Pink Paisley 365 Degrees Flip Notes, AC Thickers, Twine & scrap paper from stash (reminisce I believe)

16 February 2011

I am becoming *that* mom!!

So I've never been a huge fan of Valentine's Day. But now that I have kids, I look for reasons to have fun. Of course, I decided to make a special Valentine's Day dinner on Monday.

Strawberry pancakes! They were super easy (especially since I got a Kitchen Aid mixer at Christmas - shout out to my wonderful husband there). I even tried to make them in heart shapes with cookie cutters, but let's just say that my festiveness only goes so far and as soon as something messes up I get mad and give up. LOL!

So the menu consisted of strawberry pancakes, scrambled cheesy eggs and bacon. And it was a big hit as breakfast night is always welcomed at our house!

The pancakes are really easy.


1 1/2 cups cake mix
1 egg
1 cup milk
Mix it up and cook just like you would for regular pancakes. Throw on a spoonful of icing (in this case vanilla) and you have a super sweet and fun pancake for the occasion!



*side note - if you have a child who thinks mashed potato is the Anti-Christ... he won't eat the vanilla icing either (or anything white like that) because he is CONVINCED it is a spoonful of potato.

Follow dinner up with this chocolate cake and you are set! That is, until your husband reads on facebook that one of his friends got steak & crab legs for dinner.

So now I have to start planning for Dr. Seuss' Birthay and St. Patrick's Day!! I'd love to hear ideas if you have some!

15 February 2011

Project 12 - January

Have you heard of Project 12? It's a cool way to document your year, month by month. And not to mention there are prizes involved! They release a sketch at the 1st of each month and you don't have to use it, but it is a really cute sketch.


So here is my January project, using the January sketch and some of my most recent digital papers & elements.


14 February 2011

Valentine Card & Bag

This is a super quick & easy project. It came together in about half an hour (and that includes interruptions from the 2 year old - LOL). All supplies are from Momenta - including recycling the package from the card pack to create the bag.






Supplies:
Card Pack (NC-1271)
Occasions & Celebrations Paper (PA-1992)
Foil Flourish Rub-Ons (RO-1895)
Black & White Gem Stickers (ST-3056)

I know it will be warmly welcomed, just because of the treats on the inside of the bag! ;)

Moxie Fab World Cameo Challenge

I created this card for the Cameo Challenge at Moxie Fab World.

I found the cameo image online and cut it out with my wishblade, cut the frame with my wishblade and put it all together. All supplies are from Momenta. I really do LOVE these card packs from Momenta - they make card making super quick and easy!!



Supplies:
Relaxed Cardstock (PA-1035)
Occasions & Celebrations Paper (PA-1992)
Card Pack (NC-1279)
Foil Flourish Rub-Ons (RO-1895)
Chipboard Buttons (EM-1409)
Earthtones Alphabet Stickers (ST-3209)
Pastel Gem Stickers (ST-3031)

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Valentine's Day and spending it with the ones you love!!

13 February 2011

Design Dollies Feb Color Challenge

I decided to participate in the February Color Challenge over at Design Dollies...
The colors were Purple, Green & Ivory... perfect colors for the little girl in my life!
This picture was taken just the other day. I can't believe our little girl is 2 months old already!




To create the polka dot background, I dipped the cap of my pen in ink and dotted it onto the textured cardstock. Super easy and I love the effect b/c some areas are heavier and it really gave it extra texture.
Supplies:
Acrylic Craft Paint
Paper Doilies
Prima & Silk Flower Leaves

12 February 2011

CSN Stores

Have you heard of CSN Stores? I was lucky enough to work with CSN Stores a couple months ago and provide one reader a great prize, as well as provide a review for an item from their wide variety of stores. This was such a cool opportunity, and I'm happy to say that I am able to do it again for my readers.


This time I'd like to point your focus toward a wooden swing set from http://www.swingsetsandmore.com/. They have some super cool swing sets - like this Explorer's Station Swing Set. What kid wouldn't absolutely LOVE having this in their backyard? I know Grayson would. And I won't lie - I would have fun with that too!



Not in the market for a swingset? No worries - with over 200 stores, you have a variety of choices at the simple click of your mouse. Seriously, everything you could want - all in one place! Can't ask for better than that!

So I just wanted to give you a head's up that I'll be having another review and giveaway here on my blog for CSN Stores. So stay tuned! And if you are interested in hosting one, please let me know and I will pass your information along!

09 February 2011

How I spent my Wednesday

You know, I have a huge love of dogs. I've always had one or two or three... They are tons of fun to play with, great companions, loving, fuzzy, etc, etc. Well, apparently the feeling is not mutual at our house. And I swear, these dogs have it GOOD. They get to sleep on the bed (the little one anyway), they have a never ending bowl of food and a big fat bowl of water. I love on them each and every day, feed them snacks, Grayson loves on them, Jeff loves on them ... we provide everything they could ever need.

Our dogs are constantly (and I mean constantly) trying to run away. When they do succeed at it, they never want to come back either. Have you ever tried to wrangle a 100 lb dog (who despises the car) into the car and get her home? Let me just say - IT IS NOT EASY!!! Yet, they want to run. So, after spending a couple grand on a fence for them to run in, they still want more. They have dug under the fence in various spots and are persistent about it. At this point, there are more rocks along our fence line than you can find in the grand canyon. Apparently when you are a 100 pound horse, its easy peasy to move rocks and dig a new hole.

The following is a tutorial on how to rig your fence so the dogs actually stay in the fenced yard.

#1 - Bundle up if it is cold. I swear, it was cold enough to freeze the snot in even Satan's nose that morning.


#2 - Listen to dogs whine on the back porch. Enjoy the satisfaction b/c they get to watch you destroy their hopes and dreams. Yeah, that's probably not happening... but whatever.

#3 - Insert shovel and begin digging a trench along the bottom of the fence line.


#4 - Curse every other tree root you come across.
#5 - Fall (as your weight is still on the shovel) over every third tree root.
*note - steps 4 & 5 can occur simultaneously

#6 - Break every 2-3ish hours and savor this:

#7 - Search garage(s) for hacksaw. Give up and look for something else that will cut pvc pipe. While looking for new tool, find hacksaw on workbench - really, why wouldn't it be with all the other tools?! Sigh b/c loving, endearing husband has no organization skills. Proceed to cut pvc where needed.

#8 - Insert pvc pipe into trench.

#9 - Drop a 50 pound bag of quikrete on top of the pvc in the trench.


Yeah, I know it helps if you open it and spread it out. :)


#10 - Cut & bend coat hanger into hooks. Insert through bottom wire on fence and around pvc pipe. Take that dogs!


#11 - Discover garden hose is a solid tube of ice. Curse adults in the house for not bringing it inside during winter.

#12 - Go here


and purchase this:


#13 - Stop for lunch on the way home to make the boy happy. Listen to him sing twinkle, twinkle little star through chicken nuggets and french fries all the way home. Smile b/c it's just cute!

#14 - Get home and decide to read the quikrete bag to see how much water. Smack yourself in the head for not reading you are supposed to use HOT water in cold temperatures (wouldn't need the hose anyway). Enjoy knowing you don't have to buy a new garden hose for your actual garden this spring, but you will need new gloves.

#15 - Carry buckets of hot water (yeah, the new hose wouldn't reach from the nearest connection) over and pour on top of quikrete.

#16 - Shovel dirt back on top of trench.

#17 - Finally sit on your butt and think your dogs aren't getting out, but quickly realize you are going to be proved wrong when they find a spot where you dug down too far and then chase them through the neighborhood to get them back.

#18 - Head back to the store for more quikrete and to start the process over again.

ARGH!!!

Beautiful Baby Braelyn

Here is another page I finished up in the last few days. I'm not terribly thrilled with how it turned out, but it does have an adorable subject... what more can I ask for?




Sassafras Lass Papers
Two Chicks Embellishments
Prima Flowers & Crystals

08 February 2011

Caricature Digital Page

I love doing digital pages - they are so much quicker and easier for me (little hands can't mess them up). Not to mention I organized all my digital files this past weekend... that just meant I had to do something with them, right?!


So I created this digital page for a challenge over at Tally Scapper. The picture is a caricature that was done of Jeff and I during our last visit to Orlando.


I used elements from various different designers on this page. Which leads me to a little side note about digital designers. When saving your files, you should put your name in the file - that way we know who it came from and can give you credit!

07 February 2011

** Giveaway Enabling Alert **

There is an awesome giveaway on Life As Lou. Seriously, I saw awesome because it is just that! Definitely go check it out and read some of her other posts - her work is fabulous!

Not only is she giving away an Epic 6, but there are also dies and to top it off, she is giving away 2 prizes. Stop on by!

Altered Love Notes Box

I don't know about you, but one of the things I have an abundance of at my house is empty cardboard boxes. It doesn't matter how often I take them to the recycling center, there are a huge amount of them here. Luckily for me, that comes in handy when I want to alter a quick box. :)

I altered this for a Valentine decoration. It coincides with a crop challenge held over at Tally Scrapper too, bonus!





Supplies:
MM Cardstock & Alpha Letters
Cloud 9 Pattened Paper
Rusty Pickle Chipboard
AC Thickers
Prima Crystals & Flower
Joann Pins
Misc Buttons, Ribbons & Stickers

02 February 2011

Valentine Card & Tag

Just a quick share of a valentine card and tag I created for challenges over at Tally Scrapper and the New Beginnings Crop. I used mostly Momenta supplies.

It felt really good to create something again! I can say I have the bug again and hopefully I can stick with it and get lots of projects done this month!



Supplies:
All Through The Year Papers (PA-1991)
Relaxed Cardstock (PA-1035)
Primary Cardstock (PA-0658)
Black & White Gems (ST-3056)
Flourish Stickers (ST-2841)
Black & White Alphabet Stickers (ST-3190)

Supplies:
All Through The Year Papers (PA-1991)
Relaxed Cardstock (PA-1035)
Primary Cardstock (PA-0658)
Black & White Gems (ST-3056)
Black & White Alphabet Stickers (ST-3190)
Brass Template (FS-1034)

New Blog Look :)

I decided it was time to change up my blog a bit. It has looked nearly the same since I started it, so this time I added some color!

I created a new digital banner using my Spring Forward digital kit - it worked perfect with the colors for this template. :)

Now I'm really in the mood to create, so I think I'll go finish the card I started earlier today for a challenge at Tally Scrapper.