Love @ Last

Here's the truth...my kids fight with each other...a lot...and this past weekend was no exception.  I blame it on lots of different factors such as age difference, three being an "odd" number (someone's always feeling left out), lack of attention? (maybe), myself, and just good ol' fashioned sibling rivalry.

Lately, I feel like no matter what I do, it's not right and it's not enough.  I'll get over it and I'm gonna hang in there, but it's been a rough couple of weeks and I'm hoping that I am doing the right things.  Being a mom is TOUGH.  But, I wouldn't trade it for anything...and here's why...

Sometimes I get little glimpses of them actually caring for each other and enjoying each other.  Sometimes I find them playing really well together or sticking up for each other, cheering each other on for small accomplishments in school or at home...sometimes I see how much they really do love each other, even if it's not been the norm around here lately :)

Here's a layout I created for this week's Sunday Sketch at Studio Calico...it kind of goes along with my above rant :)

I spent a big portion of yesterday backing up my photos to an external hard drive and removing them from my laptop to free up some space when I came across this great shot of my oldest son, Garrison and my little girl, Avery.  It was taken on Father's Day this past June when we were eating out at a local restaurant with my side of the family.  They were cuddling up on a couch after we finished dinner smiling, giggling, and really enjoying each other's company...ahhh...I do treasure moments like this, especially after a long week of constant fighting and arguing.  The little journaling tag I tucked away on the left side reads..."Sometimes you two actually get along and love each other, lol!"

I veered off from the sketch a bit by layering a lot of papers and embellishments close together.  I also switched up the spots for the photo and the circle shapes and adjusted the title placement a bit, too.  I've been wanting to use those adorable tags for weeks now and this seemed like the perfect opportunity!  And check out that NEW washi I used to cover a few wood veneer banner pieces!  Freckled Fawn had a huge shop update last Friday and a sale, so you should definitely go check it out!  And there's a new color challenge up on their blog :)

I used my Cameo to cut out all of the turquoise card stock pieces.  I found all of the cut files at www.silhouetteonlinestore.com.  The rest is from this month's Studio Calico Main Kit +Add-ons and my Pop Off The Page class kit.

I hope you're having a smooth Monday!  Thanks for looking!

Ice Cream (Everyday)

Here's my take on this week's Sunday Sketch over at Studio Calico....

I had these photos of my youngest two kiddos eating ice cream at the fair a few weeks ago.  It was all we could get them to eat because they were too excited about riding the carnival rides!  Don't ya just wish you could eat ice cream for supper everyday?!

I used bits and pieces from SC's September kit +Add-ons and the Pop Off The Page class kit.  I also stuck very close to the sketch because it's Marcy Penner's and I absolutely ADORE her work!

My favorite things about this page are the grey star washi and the gold foil Thickers I used for my title.

Oh, and be sure to check out www.freckledfawn.com on Friday, September 21st...there will be lots of new washi to get your hands on!  I. Can't. Wait.

Happy Wednesday!  TFL!!

Insta Laugh

Hello friends!  How's your week shaping up?  I'm doing ok...a nasty sinus infection has taken over my senses and I feel as if I'm walking around in some sort of daze.  Ughhh, I hope it goes away soon.

I did make it into my craft room today to do a little scrapping and here's what I came up with for this week's Sunday Sketch Challenge at Studio Calico...

I stuck very close to the sketch...I loved every ounce of it!  I also love every ounce of my September SC kit, Central High.

The "We Were Here" and the "Insta" stamps (pictured below) are from www.lifelovepaper.com.

The silver foil Thickers I used for my title "Insta Laugh" are my favorite part of this entire layout.  I can already tell that these are going to be great for upcoming holiday projects.  I also have them in gold foil, too!

I also used some pop dots to adhere the gray speech bubbles to give them some dimension. 

As I said, I had a lot of fun with this sketch.  Plus, using a sketch always saves me tons of time.  It was the perfect way to show off some photos of my hilarious kids!  Ha!  

Happy Wednesday, TFL!

Love This

Happy Friday friends!  This week has flown by, hasn't it?  I guess that's what happens when the week starts off with a holiday :)

I recently scored a vintage typewriter, so of course I had to make a page about it!  It's a Royal 440, is in fairly decent condition, and worked right off the bat!

Here's my take on this week's Sunday Sketch from SC...

 I took the sketch (see below) and turned it to the left.  I used lots of left over SC goodies and some great washi tape from Freckled Fawn.
 

I'm so happy I got to use my vintage typewriter wood veneers from Studio Calico...I just love them!

I misted my background patterned paper with some Mister Huey's Opaque White and then layered around my strip of photos with various papers, washi, and pretties.

I hope you have a great weekend!  TFL :)

My First Pub!

Whoo Hoo!!!  I finally got published!  Scrap n' Art Magazine contacted me early last month wanting to use one of my layouts for an article about using mists in the scrapbooking industry.  I can't post the layout on here quite yet, but I do have a link to the article...

http://scrapnart.com/issue/september2012/article/a-fine-mist

 I hope you check it out!

I completed another layout yesterday for Studio Calico's Weekly Challenge...

This week's challenge was to scrap a very recent photo...I took these last Thursday on Avery's first day of preschool...

I normally scrap recent photos because it's easier for me to get the "feel" of how I want to convey a certain story on my page when that story is still fresh in my mind.  I used lots of bits and scraps from my stash for this layout and the Pop Off The Page class kit (which I totally killed on this one!)

The "Shine" piece was cut from my Cameo.  It was also part of the SC class.  I misted it with some Mister Huey's Gold for a little "shine"!

My favorite part of this layout is the tiny stars and sequins I added throughout the "starburst", which I also cut out using my Cameo.

I love this pic of Avery...she was so excited and proud to be starting school!  Now she's my "big" little  girl :)

Happy Thursday!  TFL!

Remember Today Only

Ok, ok, I'm trying hard not to get too sentimental with this blog post (#200 btw!), but it's hard.  My babies are getting big and growing up.  Fast.  We were all walking up the driveway yesterday after the boys got home from school (so glad I had my camera in hand!) and I just thought, wow, these are the good ol' days.  Today is the best day.  Every day I get to spend with them is the best day.  All the crazy, hard, tough, busy, happy, fun days are the best day.  I feel very blessed and very lucky.  Even when things aren't going my way, or their way, we're lucky we have each other and that we get to be a part of each other's stories...every day :)  That's why I love scrapbooking so much.  It gives me a chance to remember the tiny moments that I would've otherwise forgotten about.  It helps me get through the moments that aren't always "picture perfect".  It helps me get my feelings across in ways other than words.  It just helps.  I'm a big ball of mush today...I just can't help it :)

Here's my layout for the Weekly Challenge over at Studio Calico...

This week's challenge was to use some sort of frame on your page.  I decided to frame the two photos with a large banner of patterned paper instead of just a plain 'ol rectangular piece.

I'm getting down to the nitty gritty of my August kit, so I can't wait for September's!

I misted my background paper with some Mister Huey's Opaque White to tone down the color a bit...
And once again I added some green glitter splatters and some Mister Huey's Silver splatters, too.

I'm so happy that it's Friday!  This week wasn't the best...just glad to get through it.  I hope you have a great weekend!  Enjoy :)

Anchors Away

Here's my take on this week's Sunday Sketch...

I kept my layout pretty close to the sketch, I just sort of smooshed everything together a bit.  

I made the banner out of various patterns of washi tape, which was super easy and fun to use in a different way.

I also used a lot of arrows and a bit of metallics in this layout, two trends that I've been working with in my Trendspotting class.  The journaling card is also from the class.

I just love this photo of my youngest son as he stood in awe of the "pirate" ship that went by our neck of the beach during our Florida vacation.  I used my Snapster App on my iPhone with the Cyan filter to get the "aqua" look around the edges of the photo.

I also used a "new to me" technique on this layout...sparkling glitter splatters.  I can already tell it's going to be my next obsession!  I found this great video at SwissGirlDesigns that showed me how to achieve the look :)  It's fun to try and really quite simple, hope you check it out!

Happy Thursday!  TFL!

Up, Up, & Away!

Here's my take on this week's Sunday Sketch Challenge at Studio Calico...

I had some fun photos of my brother, hubby, and oldest son from when they went parasailing on our vacation that I couldn't wait to scrap.  I took this week's sketch and turned it upside down because I wanted the title on the top.  I used the banners to represent the tilted angles of the sketch.  

 
I added the wood veneer stars from SC to carry out the theme from the star on the parachute and all the products I used for this layout are from the Summer of '69 August Kit +Add-ons from Studio Calico.

I couldn't help myself from using doilies on my "boy-themed" page...they reminded me of the fluffy parachute, too!

I hope you're having a great week...I can't believe it's Wednesday already!  xo

This Is Where I Want To Be.

First and foremost, I want to give all of my blog followers a big XO for all the support and wonderful comments I've been receiving lately :)  I'm so glad you're enjoying my posts and layouts and I just want you all to know it means so much to me that I can provide a little inspiration for you in your own crafting and scrapbooking endeavors.  I'm truly honored that you take time out of your day just to stop by and check out my little blog :)  Thank you all so much, from the bottom of my heart!

Ok, ok...enough of the mushy stuff :0)

I played along with Studio Calico's Weekly Challenge this week.  This week's challenge was to use a black and white photo on your layout so you wouldn't have any color matching issues with your photo and paper.  

Here's my layout...

I have to admit that I had a hard time with this challenge at first.  I've been using very brightly colored photos in my layouts all summer long (thanks to my Snapster app on my iPhone :) and I honestly couldn't remember the last time I scrapped a black and white one.  I spent at least an hour scouring my pics looking for the perfect black and white contrast when I found this photo of myself my shadow snapping a pic of the beach while we were on vacation.  When I found it, I knew it was the one.

I intended to use a lot more colors and patterns, but the photo wasn't matching up with anything I liked so I went a little more monochromatic.  I still really like the way it turned out though ;)

I used my Summer of '69 kit +Add-ons for this layout.  I used my Cameo to cut out the "geotags", "HERE arrow", and the "THIS IS WHERE I WANT TO BE" sentiment.

Have a great weekend everyone!  TFL!!!

Toes in the Sand

Here's my spin on this week's Sunday Sketch Challenge at Studio Calico...

This is my first vacation photo that I've got to scrap and I love how it turned out!  I debated on using this photo because everyone's feet were in it but my oldest son's.  I still loved the pic so I just decided to make up for his absence in my journaling.  (I think he was on a shopping excursion with my brother when we snapped this :)

I stuck pretty close to the sketch (see below) except I used a bigger focal point (the photo) to house my title.  I added all the little pieces around the patterned paper that framed the 6x6 pic to represent the space around the title in the sketch.  I really love working with sketches and they're always such a big time saver!

I used my new Summer of '69 kit +Add-ons for this layout.

Happy Wednesday!  TFL!

Every Mile Makes Me Smile

Here's my spin on the Weekly Challenge at SC...

This week's challenge is all about making a long title for your page using at least three fonts, letter stickers, or die-cuts.  I don't know if my title is very long, but I really liked how this page turned out with the mix-up of fonts :)

The "smile" and the bicycle are cut files that I purchased from the Silhouette Online Store.  The "mile" is just the negative from the "smile" piece.  I really like to use every bit of paper when I scrap so this worked out perfectly for my page.

I took this photo the other morning while I was on my bike ride.  I've been riding my bike almost daily since May and I have really enjoyed the results!  I feel so much stronger, healthier, and refreshed after each ride and that's really been my motivation to get through these hot summer months on my bike.

I used my Elmwood Park kit +Add-ons for this layout and I misted my background "sunburst" with a mix of Mister Huey's Mists.

I hope you're having a great week!  I'm wrapping up around here and getting ready for our trip...
We leave for Florida on Saturday!!!  I can't wait!!!

TFL :)

Tractor Time

Here's my take on this week's Sunday Sketch Challenge at SC...

Jubal got up early this past Saturday to take the kids to the tractor show with my brother and my dad.  I opted out of going because I needed to get caught up on some projects and chores before we leave on vacation this weekend.  It was nice to have a few hours to myself at home...that hasn't happened in a long time.

I used my Elmwood Park kit +Add-ons for this layout.  I really love that blue and white striped aqua washi.  I stuck close to the sketch this time and printed off my photo at 6x8.  I haven't scrapped a pic that large in quite awhile and I really liked the switch up from my normal 4x4 size.

There's still time to sign up for the Trendspotting class over at www.studiocalico.com/classroom.  I can't wait until it starts on August 1st.  Lots of fun trends, cut files, and downloads with this one!  Go check it out!

Happy Tuesday, TFL :)

Zoom & Zoom

Hello blog friends!  It's Monday and I finally got around to finishing last week's Weekly Challenge over at www.studiocalico.typepad.com over the weekend.  

Here's my take on the "larger than life" title challenge...

I used my Cameo to cut out my title "Zoom & Zoom" using a free downloaded font, Hamburger Heaven.  The super large chevron was also cut out using my Cameo and I decided to fill it to the brim with lots of little bits of paper and embellies.

Once again, I used my Elmwood Park +Add-ons for this layout.

I had this great photo of my oldest son, Garrison, riding his skateboard that I couldn't wait to scrap.  I don't get as many shots of him as I used to, so I'm always stoked when I get a good one!

Happy Monday!  I'm off to run errands and visit the orthodontist's office.  TFL!!!