sibling love

I can't believe it is Monday already. I'm almost to the point of feeling old, thinking how quickly the days pass. But I'll refrain from boring you with my melancholy.

Today I'm sharing a page I did for a challenge over at Tally Scrapper. The inspiration photo just made me think of doodling, so I doodled a a border on the paper. The title is more doodling from my handwriting. Since I wanted the picture to really be the main focus, I decided minimal embellishments would be better given all the doodling I had added.

Hope you have a fabulous Monday! I'll be around tomorrow to share a couple digital pages.

Let Freedom Ring

Happy 4th of July! 

I hope your day is filled with fireworks, 

grilling and lots of laughter.

What better way to celebrate than with a patriotic card? This was done for a card sketch challenge over at Tally Scrapper. This is another project from my scrap drawer. It includes stuff from ki memories, scenic route, reminisce, ek success and we r memory keepers.

Now, go out and enjoy yourself!

Chalk Fun (and fun news)

Lucky me, I was asked to guest design with Marie H Designs for the month of July. What a great opportunity, her kits are fabulous and she has some really cool templates too! Be sure to check her out. And like Marie H Designs on facebook to keep up to date with current information.

Today I'm sharing some older pics of the boy. They worked perfectly with this kit, and he had so much fun playing with the chalk during out trip that year. And he was such a little goof with his fire fighter rain boots on!

The page was done for a challenge over at Tally Scrapper. There is a crop going on over there right now, so I suggest you head over. The crops there are always fun!

The kit is the Chalk Full of Fun kit from Marie H Designs. Love the colors and the embellishments in it are awesome. I can't wait to get some pics of the girls to use with the pinks & purples as well. :)

Baby Girl

Why does life always get in the way of the things we *want* to do?! I think today would be a perfect day to scrapbook, it is pouring outside, everybody is kinda lazy... but instead I will be sucking the water out of our carpet. I guess we need the rain, but when it rains so much in a short period of time our basement floods. We thought it was behind us and we fixed the problem, but apparently not.

Being a grown up is hard, and sometimes it just sucks! Phoooey :(

And back to my scrapping world... it took me a few days to finish this page. I started it for a challenge over at Tally Scrapper, but I didn't get it posted by the deadline. It sat on my desk for a few days and I couldn't ever get it to where I was happy with it. After a few days I decided I had messed with it enough. I'm still not 100% happy with it, but it does look better than it originally did. Guess I just wasn't feeling it last week (or I was too busy reading the 50 shades of grey trilogy, which is probably more likely).

A couple weeks ago I had stamped out some butterflies and embossed them, so I decided to use those up with this layout. Since I used them all up, it means I need to get the supplies out and make some more. This time it should be easier since Jeff found my heat gun! Woohoo - no more attempts at burning down the house (all though I think it is entirely too soggy right now).

Tomorrow I'll be back with a digital project, see you then! Enjoy your Monday. :)

Happy NSD!!

I usually don't blog on the weekends, but how can I pass up celebrating NSD? I hope you guys are finding fun things to do all around the interwebs... we all know there are lots of celebrations happening. So help us out, if you know anything fun link it up in the comments for us!

{Happy National Scrapbook Day}

This is a page for my digital challenge over at Tally Scrapper (Build a Sundae). Check it out if you have time, there are all kinds of free kits on the net that you can get to meet the qualifications.

1st Trip to the Park

These pictures are from last year. Braelyn's first trip to the park. The thing she really wanted to do was eat the rubber mulch. I swear, that child will put anything in her mouth. So the pictures where she is about to cry, that's cause I kept telling her no.

I decided to do this one in 8.5 x 11 just to mix it up a bit. I'm sure I will regret that when printing time comes though.

And if you haven't heard about some of the great things happening for National Scrapbooking Day this weekend, check around - there are loads!

Here are just a few...
Tally Scrapper has a crop happening.
Xyron has a week full of fun.
Little Red Scrapbook has a blog hop.

Lucky Me

The days are just flying by, I can't believe it is Tuesday already! In a few more days I get to visit with my Grandma. :) I'm so excited!

Today I'm sharing a digital layout. One of my husband. He deserves huge props for putting up with me, and I know it. I'm lucky to have him and so are the kids. I honestly can't say enough good things about him.

As always, lots of different designers for the items on the page. Hope you are having a great Tuesday - see you tomorrow with a paper project (and back to the cute ones in the family). ;)

And just a quick reminder, Tally Scrapper has a crop going on this weekend - so come join in the fun!!

Spiderman Bike

Another digital page here, and another challenge from Tally Scrapper. This one is smacker's sketch challenge, a great inspiration piece if you are looking for a sketch to follow. I adapted it just a bit to fit my needs, but isn't that what you are supposed to do with a sketch?!

I love how it turned out, and I can't wait to see this one in print. The design and the grungy elements just seem to fit a boy page perfectly. And let me tell you how much the boy loves his bike. He is one happy camper. The first day he fell over a few times and bruised up his legs, but he has determination. It is so cute, he just rides in circles on the basketball court right now... but I have no doubt he will eventually be courageous and try to take on our steep driveway. He even says it has 'gadgets' :)

And just a reminder about the NSD Crop that will be happening over at Tally Scrapper, be sure to check it out!

Bowling

One of the things we decided to do for Grayson's birthday over the weekend was take him bowling. It was actually his first experience with actually getting to bowl. He loved it, but tuckered out about the 6th frame. I think the birthday presents were more interesting to him! But I did manage to get a few pictures of him in the process.

There are a couple sketch challenges over at Tally Scrapper right now, and one is a sketch from sketch inspiration. The sketch is really cute and worked perfectly with these pictures. So I whipped up a quick digital page for the challenge...

And while I'm on the topic of Tally Scrapper, there will be a NSD crop happening there. So be sure to head on over and check it out! See you there!

Hunting Eggs

Tomorrow I think we are going to visit Peter Rabbit and see which child freaks out first. My guess = Braelyn. She's not very friendly with people in costume or people in general for that matter. I'm still not sure how we managed getting Santa pictures without security escorting us out. I honestly felt kinda bad for Santa.

I also feel bad for the Chick Fil A cow, I think her little brain tells her to kick him in the shins and run the other direction. The funny thing, she doesn't even run for me. She just runs to hide.

So given Easter is coming up, I thought I would share a digital page of Grayson hunting for Easter Eggs. Since my cousin has been coming to visit for Easter, my mom is all into setting up fun stuff for the kids. I guess it's worth it when there are four of them, not just two. Either that or she found some secret energy booster that she has yet to share. I might have to ask her.

So here are some pictures of Grayson hunting for eggs last year in their yard. Since my cousin's kids are older we had to keep putting 'easy' eggs out for Grayson. Who honestly was more than happy with just one egg, especially once he discovered there were goodies inside. What can I say, my kids lead sheltered lives.


I did this page for a sketch over at Tally Scrapper. Head on over and check it out, it's a great sketch!

Funny Faces

Happy Tuesday! It is such a lovely day here in NC, we really should get out and do something. But in the meantime I'm going to share a digital page with you.


I did this for a challenge over at Tally Scrapper, which was definitely a challenge for me. I usually have lots of white space on my pages, so trying to do a page fully covered really threw me. I think it turned out pretty well though, plus I love these pictures of Braelyn. She is such a character!

Have a wonderful Tuesday - and be sure to check back as I'll be doing a giveaway later this week!

Just Another Manic Monday

It's just another manic Monday

I wish it was Sunday
'Cause that's my funday
My I don't have to run day

Yeah, I can't come up with a better title than that. And you know that song is now stuck in your head and you'll be singing it all day. You can thank me for it later. You know you will. And by thanking, I definitely don't mean throwing rocks at my head. :)

I hope everyone had a great weekend. The weather was nice here (despite the occasional storm) and we had lots of errands to run, but I managed to get some scrapping time in. I even picked up a few new supplies on one of our trips out. But today I'm sharing a digital page. The papers are from Audrey Neal. Her kits are fabulous, I highly recommend looking at her goods if you are into digitals. For this kit, I use papers from Rainy Day Love and a banner from Just My Type (although I adjusted the colors to match). I used a sketch challenge over at Tally Scrapper for the design on this one - it was such a great sketch I just couldn't pass it up.



Grayson and I are always calling each other 'silly butt' around the house. Usually it starts with me saying it to him and he says, "I not silly butt, you silly butt!!!" and then takes off running so I can't catch him. This particular day he was taking pictures and asking me to pose. Poor Braelyn just looks at us like we're crazy (i'm sure you are right sweetheart, we are beyond help, you'll get it soon).

On another note - I spent Friday cleaning out and organizing my embellishment drawer. Good Golley! I got half way through and decided I wasn't motivated to finish it. So I walked away only to have Braelyn find the piles and start dragging stuff out. So now I'm cleaned out and organized! Why should you care?! Good question. I've decided to do a giveaway. So stay tuned this week (probably Wednesday) and you could win something!

It is Thursday already?!

Since the weather has been nice, I've spent the past three days digging in and rearranging our basement garage. To say it was disgusting is an understatement. However, after one trip to the landfill, one trip to goodwill and lots of moving and sweeping I am done! I did some reorganizing and am happy to say I now have a home for my 'projects'. I've long wanted to blame Jeff for the demise (sorry hon, you know I love you), but after cleaning up I realized that it seems to be my 'projects' that are taking over the space. Guess that means I need to get crackin' and get some things done.

Maybe I will even get the nerve to share before/after pictures, but I don't think it will stay this clean for long.

At any rate, I was going to take today off but I decided to finish up a page I started. I love my son's facial expressions, and he has some of the weirdest errr, cutest placements of his head. He is like me in that he can't hide what he is thinking. So I'll apologize if you get the 'really?!' look, we probably aren't referring it to you, just whatever thought is in our brains at the moment.


This one is for a challenge over at Tally Scrapper (to use ribbon as a border). I rolled the edge of my 'banner' to give it some dimension. I'm not terribly happy with the ribbon strips I put on there so I think I will pull them back off. The paper is Rose Moka and the cardstock is from Momenta.

Braelyn & Daddy

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. It was nice here, we did some shopping and managed to keep the kids in check!

I did this page for a challenge over at Tally Scrapper. I lifted the general idea from a page I saw on page maps. I had to go search out this scrappers blog and oh my word - she is awesome! Do take some time to check out her blog, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

At any rate, I am happy with how my page turned out. I used momenta papers and strips of cardstock from my scraps stash.


Now if I can get back to coming up with my own ideas, life will be good! Enjoy your Monday folks!

1st Beach Trip

This was a challenge I did back in January at CTS. Being that this was the first layout I had done in months, I love how it turned out!

Grayson's first trip to the beach was in April 2011. He loved access to the HUGE sandbox. He still talks about it, and lately has been asking to go back. I just love this picture of him, his expression seems so somber which is rarely the case for him.


I've decided to join in a smash* book challenge over at Tally Scrapper. I have loads of empty journals around so I thought it might be a good way to use them up. I actually think I'm going to start with the junk errr... sentimentals from our wedding. They have been sitting in a box for the past few years, so I figured I might as well do something with them! It is part of my quest to declutter!

And, in case you haven't read, My Sketch World is having a DT call right now. There are great sketches there, and the forum seems like a great place to hang out! Check it out and good luck if you apply!

Brown Eyed Girl

You all should know I have a special place in my heart for pups. I love all of them, even the annoying ones like mine. Right now, this is our oldest pup Sofee (she is only 5). She started having seizures late last year. She has 1 or 2 a month, so right now we are waiting it out to see if the frequency of them changes before we put her on medication.

For this page, I glittered up some random chipboard alphabets I had, I also used the packaging from some Sassafras embellishments and painted up a doily with some caramel colored shimmerz. The bird is actually a metal garden stick I had in my drawer (who knows where I got it from).


The inspiration for this page was an upcycle challenge at Tally Scrapper. Sorry the picture isn't the greatest, I didn't see the glare on the transparency until I started to edit.

Hope you are having a terrific Thursday!

Happy Leap Day!!

Happy Leap Day!

Looks like I have found a routine that works and I seem to be getting a little more scrappy time in these days. Since I haven't scrapped much in the last year I have a ton of pictures of Braelyn to catch up on.

Here is a page I got done this weekend of Braelyn. I used a sketch challenge from Tally Scrapper and the current chipboard challenge at Citrus Tree Studio. I glittered up an old chip chatter alphabet piece. I haven't really bought any new supplies since I haven't been scrapping. So my goal right now is to use up what I have so I can justify buying some new stuff to play with! Although the crown is new, I was in the dollar store the other day and they had some wooden embellishments so I figured I would pick them up. I inked the top part and then used stickles to create 'gems' to dress it up a bit. The paper a piece of Cherry Arte from my stash and bazzill cardstock scraps from my scrap box.


Hope you enjoy your leap day! And just a reminder that today is the last day to take advantage of the sale at Citrus Tree Studio, so go get your orders in. :)

Scrap That Baby - Cry Baby Cry

A new Scrap That Baby prompt went up this week! This time it is Cry Baby Cry, which gives you the perfect opportunity to scrap those pictures (you know you have them, don't deny it!) about the not so perfect moments of parenthood.

Another digital page from me (that seems to be all I've had time to do lately), using lots of pieces from different designers.

Be sure to check it out, cause the prize up for grabs is from the awesomeness of Tally Scrapper! I have no doubt it will be packed full of scrappy goodness.

ordinary kinda day

Another survivor layout from the TallyScrapper challenge. I am honestly amazed that I have kept up with it each week thus far. This one is just a simple page about Braelyn's ordinary day.

Bringing the Outdoors In!

Part of the challenge for this week's survivor layout (at Tally Scrapper) was to use something found in nature. I figured what better way to embrace the challenge than to get dirty! I decided to grab a little of the NC red mud and give my background page some texture.

I trompsed out into the rain to gather up some dirt. Luckily, I only had to go to the driveway (stupid erosion is causing the hill to fall).

I brought it back in to add some water until it gained the consistency I liked. Much like baby poo (sorry, you know I have a new baby - right?)

After that I grabbed my wide paint brush, dipped it in my dirt and 'flicked' (yeah, that's what I'm technicaly terming it) the dirt onto my page. Set it aside to dry and then created my layout.

Here is the finished product. I also added a couple vine wrapped sticks I snagged from the backyard. The rest of the challenge was to do a monochromatic page and use a Green Day song title/lyric in your title. So I used the title of the song (warning) and some of the lyrics as my journaling. Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and I think the clumps of dirt look pretty cool on there.