Simply Price

MME Blog Challenge

2012-02-13T09:03:00.001-07:00

My Minds Eye {Lime Twist, Alphabet Soup, Quite Contrary}

These two drove me bonkers all weekend. They argue constantly! But just when I think they'll grow up and hate each other I hear them laughing their heads off. I guess that's what siblings are for, right?
This morning they were yelling at each other about who shoved who while they were brushing their teeth. A minute later when I was looking at Anna's pierced ear and realized it was infected, Dylan was rubbing her back while she was crying. And he promised to sit by her on the bus and put his hand up in front of her ear so no one would bump it. There is hope I guess!

average human

2012-02-10T14:39:00.000-07:00

Remember when Anna created a spiderweb out of yarn to see if "the average human could build a spiderweb." She's a nut! I finally scrapped the pictures I took of her giant mess.

I used WRMK {Love Struck} for this page and it does have a bit of a "love" look to it. It's proof that her creative messes make me insane but I love her to pieces!

Her latest creative endeavour is paper people-make that lifesize paper people! She glues together pieces of paper for arms legs etc and makes giant paper dolls. And then leaves them laying around the house. Most of them are missing several limbs since the dog thinks paper is a tasty snack and he'll rip off an arm or a leg for a treat!

bookmark gifts

2012-02-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

These little kite bookmarks would make adorable valentine's! It's all in the decoration-add some hearts and some pink and red papers and you have a quick easy gift!

They slip over the corner of your book page like this to save your place.

Want to make one? Let's get started:

Kite Bookmark Tutorial

1.Fold kraft square in half. Open and fold in half again the other way. You now have a piece divided into 4 equal squares.

2. Cut the corner off of one square at a diagonal using straight or decorative scissors. This will be the front of the bookmark.

3. Cut away the entire square opposite the diagonal piece. Now fold the cardstock along the 2 remaining score lines, tucking one square behind the diagonal piece, applying adhesive to its back side, and folding the remaining square to the very back. Now you have your bookmark.

4.Adhere red triangle to bookmark front and yellow rectangle to the inside of the bookmark. As you adhere the yellow rectangle to the kraft bookmark, tuck in and adhere the yellow twine.

5. Punch out 2 flowers and adhere them together. Using the hole punch, punch 2 holes into the blue circle to make a paper button. Adhere button to flower and entire flower to front of bookmark.

6. Tie ribbon to yellow twine to make kite tail.

winner

2012-02-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Karen L-the winner of the card kit.

Karen-send me your address at stampinmich at yahoo and I'll get this shipped out to you!

Just a few days left to enter the Die Cutting Challenge at Moxie Fab World! I'm linking up this card that was made using my Silhouette!

LOVE

2012-02-06T09:13:00.000-07:00

I used more Basic Grey {Kissing Booth} to make this little V-Day banner! The sweet little glassine bags are filled with candy hearts and punched heart confetti. I love these bags-I can think of a million things to do with them.

If you are local there is still time to sign up for this class at Paper Cottage.

BRAND NEW-card kits & a GIVEAWAY

2012-01-30T16:36:00.002-07:00

{SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY}

It's true! Brand new to my Etsy shop are these adorable card kits! Grab one of these kits.

Kit comes with full color photos of the 3 cards seen here and 2 mystery cards which you will only see with your order. Color photos will also have any instructions for special techniques. Make the card samples provided or dream up your own creations! Shop my Etsy store to get yours!

And now for the giveaway-Who wants to win one of these? Three easy ways to enter (US only please):
*Leave a comment.
*Become a follower or let me know you are already a follower for an additional entry.
*Post about this giveaway and give me a link for a third entry!

Good luck ladies-giveaway closes on Feb 5th at midnight!

lily bee {head over heels}

2012-01-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

I love this beautiful paper from Lily Bee. Mine came in my Scrapbook Nook Jan kit. I love the colors of this vibrant paper. Last night I made a few cards for some challenges at Scrapbook Nook:

moxie fab punches challenge

2012-01-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

A few more valentines cards to share today! I entered these both in the Moxie Fab World Punches Challenge. Check out the details here and enter your own card.
On this card I used the tiny heart punches to make tassels on the end of my twine. I put a glue dot on one heart and then sandwiched the twine in between another heart.

And another card using the little bitty hearts and the adorable We Are Memory Keepers {Love Struck} line.

be true

2012-01-20T10:42:00.003-07:00

Last night I drank an extra Diet Pepsi at 9:30pm and whipped up this layout. Who knew living dangerously could be so much fun :)

Not sure about the wierd shadow on Anna's face?

I made this for the My Minds Eye Blog Challenge using an older MME line called {So Sophie}. The theme was "new" with a beautiful sketch. I choose to go with a new year theme and some advice for Anna for the year. The flowers are from the gorgeous Prima Botanical line. The swirls coming from behind the large flower were cut from one of the patterned papers.

bees knees

2012-01-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

We had a major snowstorm today and it snowed non-stop all day. It was the first of the season and much anticipated. I sent my kids off to school this morning...

...and since I couldn't really do any of the things I had planned-I made a few cards-in my pjs. Absolute heaven!

Paper source: WRMK {Love Struck}

v-day

2012-01-16T16:26:00.001-07:00

I'm already starting to make valentine's day stuff because I always love the v-day paper collections. I made these for the moxie fab world punch challenge and Paper Cottage displays.I used an older Fancy Pants line {Love Birds}.

I've been trying to take more pictures this year. My kids are growing up fast and my camera stays in my closet until a "big" event comes along. But-I was looking at some older pictures the other night and I realized that it's about documenting what they look like in each phase. Oh how I miss my sons chubby toddler hands and his pink cheeks after his nap.

He's gone from this...

..to this so fast!

it's love

2012-01-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

Just sharing a page I made with the January Scrapbook Nook Kit. These pictures are from Thanksgiving day when I was attempting to get a picture of my kids together.

It's been a busy couple of weeks and I've been wishing for some creative time-hopefully this weekend. I wish I craved housework as much as I crave scrapbooking. Can you imagine what my house would look like if I gave it the same attention to detail I give my layouts? Wow- unimaginable really! :)

baptism dress

2012-01-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

{Yay for my computer fixin hubby-I love free tech support! I'm finally able to upload photos again!}

Saturday was Anna's baptism day. (In our church children are baptised when they turn 8) She has been so excited for this day for at least a year. I wanted to make her a white dress to wear after her baptism and I wanted it to be special. This sweet poem came to mind. As soon as I saw the baptism dress posted on Brown Paper Packages I knew I wanted to give it a try. It was way over my sewing level, but I managed to get it done. I changed out the top and used McCall's 5966 for the top-since I liked the overlap look. I stitched pearls to the neckline and made a sash to go with it.

It was a beautiful dress for a beautiful girl on a perfect day! Thanks to everyone who came and made it a special day.

on the fritz...

2012-01-06T09:19:00.000-07:00

My computer is having issues and I cannot upload new pictures right now-very annoying. I've got tech support on it ;) but he probably won't get it fixed till this weekend. In the meantime I thought I'd reshare some winter thank you cards I made last year, just in case you have a few thank yous of your own to send out.
And check back on Monday-I'll share what I've spent the entire week making!

new years goodie bags

2011-12-31T09:19:00.000-07:00

I saw this adorable idea on the American Crafts blog and wanted to share. I had hoped to have my own version to post, but haven't got these done yet. I still have 10 hours though..

New Year's Eve Goodie Bags by Melissa Mann

These little goodie bags are like a New Years advent with one for the kids to open every hour until midnight. Such a cute idea! Here's the full post

gift tags

2011-12-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

Ok-last Christmas post! I made a few tags to attach to co-worker gifts. I used a variety of supplies. The little girl sihouette is actually from an old book I found at the thrift store.

gingerbread party

2011-12-21T09:48:00.002-07:00

Sorry I diappeared for a few days-the Christmas crazies got the best of me!

Last night was our annual gingerbread house party. We get better at it every year. My dad hot glued the houses together before we got there and it made for much easier house creation. Notice I did not say much cleaner-as I still came home covered in icing. Part of the fun I guess~

This year after we decorated the kit houses, we had little gingerbread house cakes for the kids to decorate and then eat. It was a hit and the big house didn't get picked clean of the candy on the way home.

I bought this sweet cake pan at Target, but don't see them on the webiste. It's similar to this one-except it has 2 smaller cakes instead of 1 large one.

Anna wasn't feeling well last night so I got to make my own cake. Love how sweet these are!

o christmas tree

2011-12-12T16:45:00.001-07:00

Here's another take on the rolled tree card. I used Basic Grey {Hello Luscious} which is not a Christmas line, but it works.

I'm in a card making mood right now and my stack of cards is getting huge. I need to start actually sending them out I guess!

card class

2011-12-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

I'm teaching a fun Christmas card class tonight at Paper Cottage. I have one kit left if you are local or you can call and order a kit to go. Enjoy!

go vote

2011-12-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

Public voting has started for card sharks and I could sure use some votes :) It's easy-you don't have to register, just leave a comment on a blog post.

For challenge 1 go here
For challenge 2 go here

I decided this year that I will not be sending out handmade cards. It's too hard to make enough and really adds to my Christmas stress-so I'm skipping it this year. I know it's shocking-but I'm sure everyone will get over it. I ordered my photo cards form Costco and I'm already breathing a sigh of relief. Maybe next year...if I start making them in July. Because I'm a Christmas craft overachiever, some of my special gifts wil get handmade tags. I started a few last night and thought I'd share.

card sharks:poker flush

2011-12-07T19:48:00.002-07:00

Last card of this round. I used some older Echo Park to make this. The challenge this time was to use 5 of the same embellishments-I used 5 buttons.

card sharks:crazy 8

2011-12-06T09:23:00.001-07:00

Yet another entry for card sharks. The challenge was to use 8 different items on your card.

I used a doily,stamps,patterned paper, rhinestones, a pearl, twine, a snowflake and stitiching.

In other news-we went to our town's Christmas tree lighting last weekend. Anna saw the commercial and reminded daily. I was not thrilled since it was freezing, but it's nice to have a little family time. Anna is so funny this year. We had a "discussion" about the Easter Bunny at Easter. She asked and I answered but apparently I didn't answer the way she wanted. She told me I ruined her life. So I figured she got that it applied to EVERYTHING, but she was jumping up and down to see Santa so I guess the magic still continues for her.

She's been just as excited about our Elf on the Shelf tradition. Dylan left a caramel by the Elf last night and this morning it had tiny bite marks out of it. While Dylan was running to show his dad-Anna looked at me and gave me a dirty look. I guess she does remember SOME of our discussion. If she asks again I have my answer all planned and this time it won't be the harsh truth. She is so much like me. I remember knowing the truth but still wanting it to all be true-and seriously I think I was 11!

love

2011-12-05T14:24:00.001-07:00

The latest entry for the card sharks contest is love themed. I went with something a little non-traditional and used these cute Bella Blvd papers. I stitched a heart onto my finished card and added some little rhinestones on my heart. This is also linked up at Moxie Fab Worls for the Sweetest Day contest.

I'm home with a sick kid today so maybe, just maybe I'll get to spend some time at my craft table!

seriously good pasta

2011-12-02T09:29:00.001-07:00

I've been craving some good pasta lately, and Ragu alfredo just wasn't cuttin it. What I wanted was restaurant pasta-but we were busy this week with places to be and no time for a restaurant meal.
So...have you heard of Our Best Bites? Its a cool cooking blog full of deliciousness! I found the recipe for Baked Chicken-Bacon Alfredo there and gave it a try. It was delish-like restaurant delish and healthier than a restaurant too. You've gotta try this-

photo from Our Best Bites

Baked Chicken-Bacon Alfredo

(it's worth it to make the Alfredo sauce yourself like the recipe suggests)

November Kit

2011-12-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving is over, but here are a few more fall projects. I was a guest designer for Scrapbook Heaven and made a few things with the November kit.

And I'm featured today on the Scrapbook Nook blog. Check it out here

Disney

2011-11-29T17:28:00.001-07:00

Totally forgot to post our Disneyland trip. I was hoping to have the photos all edited and perfect-but really-it might be forever before I get that done. So here goes-here's the funnest vacation we've ever had. The more my feet hurt-the bigger our smiles got!

Waiting for the first ride

The BSU fairy

I asked for princess poses-huh?

Dreams do come true

Once again-a dream came true

sweaty faces-it was 102 degress

More..

2011-11-24T09:35:00.001-07:00

Are you sick of cards? I've had very little crafting time lately and so I spend what time I have keeping up with the card sharks challenges over at Scrapbook Nook. I promise my normal life will resume sometime after Christmas. But here is one more card~

2011-11-24T09:33:00.002-07:00

Scrapbook Nook Card Sharks Entry-create a card that is nature inspired and uses something wood.

Home Sweet Home

2011-11-21T22:50:00.000-07:00

Just another card for the Scrapbook Nook Card Sharks Contest:

Phase 10 Challenge

2011-11-16T17:09:00.000-07:00

My last entry this week for the Scrapbook Nook Card Sharks Challenge. The phase 10 challenge started with a card base.

Phase 1: CREATE the base of the card using these 4 elements:

1 pp background
1 block of pp or cardstock
1 strip of paper or trim
1 decorative edge

Phase 2: EMBELLISH your card from PHASE ONE base.

Using American Crafts Amy Tangerine Line.

2011-11-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

One more card using Amy Tangerine. Linked up to Moxie Fab World Pay It Forward Challenge and Scrapbook Nook Card Sharks contest.

MME Card Sketch

2011-11-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

I made this card for the My Minds Eye Card Sketch Challenge. It uses a bunch of different lines from MME since all I have left of MME papers is scraps. I tend to use them all up quickly.

Christmas Tag

2011-11-10T15:25:00.000-07:00

Just sharing my first entry for the Scrapbook Nook Card Sharks contest. I'm using some of last years Graphic 45 Christmas papers and a gorgeous Prima flower.

Christmas Countdown

2011-11-05T13:48:00.001-06:00

Christmas countdown calendar-I'm teaching this cute project at Paper Cottage this month. I'm in love with the glitter that looks like sugar crystals right now. I can't wait to use it on everything. This project uses Basic Grey {Nordic Holiday} paper line.

Christmas??

2011-11-02T09:08:00.001-06:00

It's November 2 which means Christmas is rapidly approaching. If you are making your own Christmas cards this year, now is the time to start before holiday craziness sets in. I made some cards a few weeks ago using the new Simple Stories {25 Days of Christmas}.

I love this Christmas line- it's perfectly vintage Christmas.

2011-10-31T15:55:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween!

More GDT Work

2011-10-27T14:19:00.000-06:00

Just a quick post today sharing the last of my October Scrapbook Heaven kit work:

This layout document a typical day for our family. It's boring stuff now but I thought it would be fun to look back on someday!

And Dylan-I love the faces he's making in these pictures. It's so him. He posed with the flowers he picked for me.

Pumpkin Donuts

2011-10-24T09:14:00.000-06:00

Are your pants fitting just a little too loose? Are you feeling just a little too skinny? Then make these!

I found this recipe in an old cookbook my grandma gave me and they were delish! The perfect fall treat.

Pumpkin Donuts

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 cup milk

2 Tbs. oil

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 egg, beaten

For cinnamon sugar mixture: 1/2 cup sugar & 1 tsp cinnamon

In a large saucepan heat 2-3 inches of oil. In large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. Stir in milk, oil vanilla, pumpkin and egg with a fork just until dry ingerdients are moistened. Drop by teaspoonfuls into hot oil, 5-6 at atime. Fry donut drops 1 minute each side until deep golden brown. Drain on a paper towel-then roll warm donuts in cinnamon/sugar mixture.

ENJOY!

Going Batty

2011-10-19T10:41:00.000-06:00

Today I'm sharing a fun little idea I first saw on the Pink Paislee blog! I've been in love with my Martha Stewart butterfly punch since I got it and I can't help adding butterflies to every page. This is the Halloween version of that-little punched bats. I added them to this page:

{closeup}

They are actually very simple to make. I used my Martha Stewart butterfly punch, but any butterfly punch should work. Punch the butterfly and then cut off the bottom wings. I snipped from the bottom of the body at an angle to the top of the bottom wing.

Give it a try for your next Halloween project.

Scrapbook Heaven

2011-10-17T21:27:00.001-06:00

We are back from Disneyland! We had such a great time-more to come on that later!

I'm a guest designer this month at Scrapbook Heaven. I got the spooky October Elite kit to play with and I was able to get a few projects made before we left on vacation.

I'm still working on a few more. Want the kit? Go here to get your very own!

And a few more..

2011-10-07T09:52:00.000-06:00

More Halloween Cards featuring Bella Blvd {Too Cute to Spook}

Bella Halloween

2011-10-05T11:59:00.001-06:00

I'm well into my Halloween planning and celebrating and last weekend I made a few Halloween cards to get the party started. These cards feature the Bella Blvd {Too Cute to Spook} line and SRM stickers~

A few of these cards are included in the class I will be teaching at Paper Cottage later this month.

Surprise

2011-10-04T09:10:00.000-06:00

We are going to Disneyland in 2 weeks. We waited until last Sunday to tell the kids and oh has it been hard to keep the secret. On Sunday my mom lined up all the kids and told them. This is how they reacted~

~Silence~

We expected some screaming and jumping up and down but they were pretty speechless. We had to actually convince them that we weren't kidding which kind of makes me wonder about our parenting. What makes them think we would make a big production about it and then say "JUST KIDDING"? Really? After it sunk in there was this~

And some of this~

And then the announcement that we were adding Legoland to our list of stops~

We ended the fun with a little planning and some celebration cupcakes.

Today was fun

2011-09-28T10:54:00.000-06:00

Sharing a layout I made last weekend using various Bella Blvd. lines. I'm loving the red/turquoise combo right now.

This was created for the Football Crop online at Scrapbook Heaven. There are still a few more days left to do some of the challenges and be in the running for some great prizes.

And speaking of Scrapbook Heaven-I was asked to Guest Design for them for the rest of the year. I'm excited to get my first beautiful kit and start creating.

Birthday boy

2011-09-27T14:05:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to this CRAZY GUY!

On Saturday he partied like crazy. He invited 22 little boys over for a few hours of fun. We rented a bounce house waterslide and set up his racing slip n slide. Luckily Mother Nature doesn't know it is supposed to be fall and it warmed up to 98 degrees.

The boys played hard-

And had a little cake-

And went home covered in mud and grass with a bag of candy. I'd say that about covers all the necessities of a little boy!

Bella Blvd Saturday Sketch

2011-09-20T14:43:00.000-06:00

I know it's not Saturday. But I made this card on Saturday using Bella's new Saturday Sketch.

And a layout too..

Both items were made using various Bella Blvd lines. Of course I had to mix in my very favorite line ever~Bella Blvd {Sunny Happy Skies}.

Moxie Fab Sketch

2011-09-19T15:12:00.001-06:00

Today is the last day to submit a card for one of the 4 sketch challenges going on at Moxie Fab World. I finshed up my card last night based on this sketch:

Basic Grey {Hello Luscious}

There is still time to submit, so go play!

Cards

2011-09-15T09:17:00.000-06:00

A few more cards to share today:

{MME Alphabet Soup}

{Jillibean Soup}

MME Sketch

2011-09-12T12:08:00.000-06:00

This weekend I made a few cards for the My Minds Eye Sketch Challenge.

2011-09-12T11:59:00.002-06:00

Both of these were made with the Alphabet Soup Line-an oldie but goodie!

Posted seprately for linking purposes:)

Mini Cards

2011-09-09T09:58:00.000-06:00

My new obsession....

Simple Stories paper

...Mini Cards

These each measure 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches and are so fun to make with just scraps. I grabbed a few pieces of patterned paper, some paper scraps, some matching buttons and a few embellishments and made all of these.

I'll be teaching a class at Paper Cottage later this month if you are local and would like to join the fun.

Halloween

2011-09-08T09:21:00.002-06:00

I sort of love Halloween-like- a lot! I'm excited to see cool new Halloween ideas popping up and it's making me a little happy. And stressed because I haven't decided on the perfect costume yet. Here's a few things that caught my eye-

photo source: sewdangcutecrafts.com

Check out these mason jar Spider Cider creations. Love the idea of using Wassail as Spider Cider. Check out all the info at Sew Dang Cute.

photosource:jenjohnson.typepad.com

And this cute decor item that would be so inexpensive to make. Check out the tutorial at Eighteen25
And speaking of Eighteen 25- stop by every day to see a new Halloween idea during their Spooktacular September.

photo source:Pennies on a Platter

And whats Halloween without some Snickerdoodle pumpkin ice cream sandwiches? Yum! Get the recipe at Pennies on a Platter.

Beach Bums

2011-09-02T10:21:00.000-06:00

I'm still scrapping pictures from our beach family reunion last year. I made this 2 page layout for a Scrapbook Nook challenge last weekend. I've been hoarding this Pink Paislee {Daily Junque} because it was too pretty to cut into. Is that wierd? Please tell me someone understands this? But it was worth it because I still looks pretty even when I cut into it:)

Photo from last year

In other news-we are in full on fanatic mode at our house. Tomorrow is the first Boise State Football game of the season! At least one member of our family won't be sleeping tonight and I'll give you a hint-it's not me or the kids. Mike always wears Bronco gear to work on the Friday before a game and the kids picked up the tradition this year and left for school today in their blue & orange. I sure hope they win tomorrow-otherwise it ain't gonna be pretty! I've done my part to support the fanaticism by buying orange and blue nail polish.

And they're off

2011-08-31T15:44:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the first day of school for my kiddos and it went by in a blur. The kids were excited and ready to go early. Anna would not wear the first day of school outfit I picked out for her and instead choose her own. Fine-whatever. I'm sure this is just the beginning of our clothes discussions.

Yesterday was Dylan's first day of Kindergarten. He was mostly excited to ride the bus. I asked him afterwards about his day and our discussion went like this:

Me: How was school?

D: Fine

Me: What did you do?

D: Nothing

Me: Did you have fun?

D: Not that much

Me: Did you make any new friends?

D: My mouth is tired-I don't want to talk anymore.

{Spoken like a true man. I bet Mike wishes he could say that to me sometimes too :) }

So I figured it went alright. Today he was up at 6:30 am, dressed and looking for some breakfast, so there must have been something fun going on at Kindergarten.

I dropped them off at the bus and went home to my completely empty home. I'm not gonna lie-it felt awesome and also a little lonely. But just when I was getting used to it, it was time to go pick up the little guy.

More Cards...

2011-08-29T15:40:00.000-06:00

Just a few cards to start off the week!

(Bella Blvd: Family Dynamix)

(LYB: Fresh Print Clothesline)

Being Clean is Optional

2011-08-26T09:02:00.000-06:00

{Scrapbook Nook Kit}

The proof is in the pictures. These pictures are all from our beach camping family reuinion last year. My kids were filthy the entire time, but under all that dirt were HUGE smiles!

Where I've been...

2011-08-24T10:25:00.000-06:00

We are back from our vacation from this gorgoeus place...

Yellowstone National Park-or Jellystone as my hubby calls it in a pretty good Yogi Bear voice. We drove all over the park and saw almost everything. I remember going as a kid and seeing NO animals so I was happy that things were different this time. We saw lots of Elk, Deer with huge antlers, a mama bear and 2 cubs, lots of random buffalo and then when we came over a hill in Lamar Valley we saw an entire huge heard of buffalo. It was a crazy sight. I have no idea how the indians ever killed one of those suckers with a bow and arrow. They are huge (and ugly)!

Ugly Buffalo

Waiting for Old Faithful

Playing in the Water

Running from a water snake

Standing over the waterfall

One of the days we took a short hike down into the Canyon where you could stand on an overlook over a huge waterfall. It was an amazing sight and a little scary to see the speed the water pours over the edge.Of course since we went down we had to go back up and that was a bit of a workout, but it was my favorite part of the trip. We had such a great time seeing it all and spending some time away from the craziness of life.

Inspired by Maggie Holmes

2011-08-15T22:27:00.000-06:00

I saw this layout on the American Crafts blog created by Maggie Holmes. (It's the first very girly layout in this post) I knew right away I wanted to copy it and make it masculine. So I did~

I was too tired to be creative so copying was the next best thing. I used mostly older papers from a kit I had and some scraps sitting on my desk.

I love these pictures of Dylan. We went to a Renasiance fair last summer that was in the park by our house, and my kids thought it was great. Dylan made his own paper sword and then got his face painted and he was feeling a little tough guy :)

2011-08-09T09:16:00.002-06:00

Source: itsdesigned.tumblr.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Tube Wands

2011-08-08T09:46:00.000-06:00

(Fancy Pants: Baby Mine, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch)

These little clear tubes have been selling like hotcakes at Paper Cottage because they are so dang cute. I filled this one up with pastel Skittles and added a topper to make a cute baby shower favor, but the possibilities are endless.

Check out this amazing wedding wand created by Tessa Buys and posted on the SRM BLOG -

You can purchase these tubes online here if they aren't sold at your local scrapbook store.

Make Something

2011-08-02T10:52:00.009-06:00

Where do the days go? I was exhausted last night but sat at my scrap desk and made a few cards because I was dying to make something-ANYTHING!

(Little Yellow Bicycle: Fresh Print Clothesline)

(Pink Paislee: Daily Junque)

More My Minds Eye

2011-07-25T15:20:00.002-06:00

Just one more 4th of July page using MME {American Made}. It's such a cute line and I had several years worth of 4th photos to scrap.
This was made using a Pagemaps sketch and the red photo corner lines are stitched.

Echo Park Cards

2011-07-18T21:13:00.003-06:00

I sat down and made a few cards today for no particular reason. I was dying for some creative time and I got a few minutes while my kids were in the backyard on the Slip-N-Slide. Hooray! I used Echo Park {Playground} and {Summer days} to make these cards. I also used a sheet of SRM stickers I had sitting on my desk. Enjoy:

Celebrating

2011-07-13T09:23:00.010-06:00

There has been little to no crafting going on in my house lately-it's summer you know! We've been busy swimming and celebrating all of the numerous family birthdays we have this month. And celebrating the 4th of July! We had a big backyard BBQ with lots of family and friends. It was a great time. We had a little time to kill before fireworks so the kids had an impromptu talent show.

It took Anna about 1.2 seconds to get over her stage fright and she did a ribbon dance.

And some breakdancing by Dylan.

We had lots and lots of fireworks which is hands down my fav part of the night. We had so many that it kept going ...

And going..

for almost 2 hours!

I did make these cute matching red/white/blue dresses for Anna and a cute baby I know.

Happy 4th

2011-07-04T11:12:00.002-06:00

Happy 4th of July! Here are some stars and stripes using My Minds Eye {American Made}:

Scarlet Lime

2011-06-27T21:27:00.002-06:00

Just a quick post to enter this card in the Scarlet Lime birthday contest. Have you seen the Scarlet Lime kits? Go check them out here

Mini Envelopes

2011-06-20T15:28:00.016-06:00

Inspired by Mini Envelopes...

At Scrapbook Nook they had a fun challenge where participants traded card kits and then we made cards with the supplies we recieved. My kit included some little mini envelopes which I loved. I made the above 2 cards with supplies from my kits.

Then I remembered I had some mini envelope templates from Stampin Up and I made one more mini envelope card....

Wedding Cards

2011-06-15T09:22:00.002-06:00

Summer is wedding season and I'm prepared! I made these wedding cards for a Paper Cottage class. I used a combination of papers from Pebbles Inc Mr. and Mrs. line and Graphic 45.

Last Day

2011-06-08T09:58:00.016-06:00

Anna is off for her last day of first grade. I'm sure it won't be long at all until she's off to her last day of high school...

I thought I'd share what she took her teacher. I made this little envelope pocket and stuck a giant candy bar in it.

She also made her teacher a picture and she loves her a lot. She was crying this morning because she won't see her all summer. It says "you are my heart and we will never ever ever be apart" -a Justin Bieber song. I'm trying not to be hurt that she didn't cry like that over me when she went to school :)

This one's for the fam

2011-06-07T21:14:00.024-06:00

Still alive here...Just been really busy with end of school year stuff. May gets crazy-it's the new December! We still have a dance recital to get through this week with all the extra practices and picture appointments that come with that. Oh and 1 more day of school. It's going to take superhuman creativity on my part to get Anna through the summer without complete boredom. That girl has to be constanly making something or she ain't happy. Not sure where she gets that from :)
Since my poor family members suffer through endless scrapbooking posts-here's one just for you. Here's what we've been up to~

Meridian Fun Run-Anna signed up purely for the t-shirt and the medal. She ran her mile, got her free snack (which she was also thrilled about) and left with her treasures. Dylan showed up to support her, decided to run the last lap with her and somehow snagged himself a medal too-which was the highlight of his life. He took it to church the next day "in case people wanted to see it"

Anna and Dylan raised baby bugs. For Christmas they got a Butterfly garden and a Lady Bug land. The baby bugs are shipped to your house and you watch them change t0 adults. It took our bugs a really long time to get to Meridian since I lost the postcard you send in to get them and didn't find it for 3 months. 3 months is a long time to check the mailbox every day but Anna never gave up hope and they finally came. It was cool to see them change. We released them last week and they did hang around for a second before they flew off.

Memorial Day in Hagerman, ID. We meet up with my side of the family for a small town parade and fair. It's a fun day for the kids. While there we visit the graves of those we love and decorate them for the holiday.

Blogger is making me mad-I have no idea what is with all these wierd formats!!

For The Record

2011-05-31T09:25:00.002-06:00

Just a little Echo Park {For The Record} love today. Why can I not get enough of this line?

Sunny Happy Skies

2011-05-20T22:29:00.011-06:00

This may come as a surprise to some of you but~ I love scrapbook paper!! I get paper crushes every so often and have to use every single scrap I own of a particular line. Right now~it's Bella Blvd. {Sunny Happy Skies}. I made this cute mini album for a class at Paper Cottage and I think it turned out so adorable if I do say so myself.

It's made from a file folder and each pocket holds a journaling tag and a tag for a picture. If you are local you can still get some of this adorable paper at Paper Cottage.

Still Here

2011-05-19T19:10:00.003-06:00

Yes-I'm still alive! Just got caught up in the craziness of everyday life. So I have just a quick share today using some deeeevine Crate Paper {Emma's Shoppe}. Love this stuff!!

2011-05-09T16:34:00.003-06:00

It's a beautiful thing when National Scrapbook Day and Mother's Day weekend end up on the same day. I was hoping it meant mega guilt free scrapping time for me, and although I didn't spend the entire day scrapbooking, I did get s few things made. First up is the latest challenge at the My Minds Eye Blog. I picked up some of the new Stella & Rose and used the sketch on the blog to make this layout.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day-I was showered with handmade crafts since both kids are now in school. Adorable!

NSD Giveaway

2011-05-08T16:02:00.002-06:00

Check out this huge giveaway going on at Bella Blvd.

Wedding Album

2011-04-29T10:14:00.003-06:00

My aunt asked me to make this wedding advice album for a bridal shower. Each guest was asked to write some advice in it for the bride to be. I thought this was a sweet idea and was happy to make something cute for them. The request was lime green and black and Echo Park {For the Record} was the first thing I thought of. I started with a blank white spiral bound book, added paper to the front and back covers and then embellished each page a bit.

WINNER

2011-04-26T08:43:00.003-06:00

And the winner is.... PEGGY!

Chosen by the super high tech random method of asking my son to pick a number between 1 and 18:)

Send me your address Peggy and I'll get this off to you.

Happy Easter

2011-04-23T16:23:00.002-06:00

Just wanted to share this quick Easter treat I made with my kids.We made regular Rice Krispie treats and shaped them into little nests after they had hardened a little. We put a few jellybean eggs in the nest and a peep bird on top. They turned out cute even if Dylan refused to acknowledge that the jellybeans were eggs and instead decided it was bird poop. Boys~sheesh!

Happy Easter!

Fancy Pants Roadshow

2011-04-21T15:41:00.005-06:00

I know this line is not new-but what is new is my love affair with it! Roadshow is deee-vine. Just the right shabby vintage. Here's some stuff I made with it:

These cards are now for sale in my etsy shop.

Bo Bunny Sketch

2011-04-17T16:33:00.006-06:00

SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY

This week I was inspired by this great Bo Bunny sketch~

I had one more picture I wanted to add so I moved the title to the top and added a little picture to the bottom. I love these pictures of Dylan with frosting and sprinkles all over his face!

GIVEAWAY

2011-04-14T10:31:00.003-06:00

How about a giveaway today? Here's what's up for grabs~

Here's how to enter:

*Leave a comment

*Leave another comment if you are a follower

*Sign up to follow my blog and leave a second comment letting me know you've done so.

Giveaway will close next Friday April 22 at midnight and I will pick a random winner. US and Canada only please.

Easter Inspiration

2011-04-12T09:41:00.002-06:00

Just a few Easter projects to share quickly today~And one of last years cards:

Wishin for Summer

2011-04-07T14:58:00.007-06:00

Too bad winter seems to be neverending. My daffodils were struggling to survive this morning in the brief snow flurry we had. But... I can still scrap summer pictures and pretend like it's just around the corner.

You may have noticed the new headers at the top of the last few posts. I've decideded to post more often with some regularly scheduled topics. Today is frugal fab where I show you how to turn junk into crafting fabulousness. So remember the last layout I showed you:

Notice the curvy square chipboard? I pulled off the backing for that chipboard and saved it. You'll notice in thebeach layout, I laid the scrap backing down on my page and used it as a mask before misting. I did this first before I placed my photos. It adds a little dimension to the plain background and it was FREE. You can do this same thing with chipboard alphabets-save the negative space and they become stencils.

Come back next week for a giveaway!

Lily Bee Sketch

2011-04-05T08:53:00.000-06:00

This week I was inspired by this great sketch on the Lily Bee blog

And here is my take on it. I used some Lily Bee Christmas Town and my new Glimmer Mist. I love the picture of Dylan standing next to my niece. This is from this past Christmas. He was Joseph and the the idea that he was supposed to be a couple with a girl was freaking him out and he wasn't very willing. The next picture I took was him giving me a thumbs down.

Ba Humbug to April Fools Day

2011-04-01T09:55:00.000-06:00

So far this April Fools Day thing just ain't workin out. I'd been prepping the kids for some antics today, which was obviously a mistake. It started last night when I heard noises upstairs where the kids were allegedly sleeping. I went upstairs to investigate and found the entire upstairs trashed. As I stood in stunned silence with my mouth literally hanging open Anna says 'April Fools!' And I mean trashed: her toys were spread all over her room and into the hall, Dylan's toys and books all over his room, the laundry basket plus the clean laundry on my bed all mixed together and spread all over my bedroom and bathroom, clean sheets from the linen closet unfolded and spread out and blue handsoap spread all over the counter, floor and toilet in the upstairs bathroom. It took everything I had to remain calm. I explained why it wasn't funny and told her she was cleaning it all up in the morning while I rewashed all the laundry. In true drama queen fashion she replied "Well that was awkward-this April Fools will haunt me for the rest of my life" And she cried. I felt like a jerk-but seriously??

Later...

Having cleaned up the soap and laundry and sheets I decided to go ahead with my orginal plan to switch the sleeping kids into each other's beds. We switched them and I laughed my way to bed until I heard Dylan screaming. I went back to his room and he was sitting on his bed next to sleeping Anna yelling at her to get out of his bed. He was not amused. I guess the funny part is all relative depending on which part you play in the joke. I moved Anna and then spent the next 45 minutes trying to calm Dylan down. We went on a hike yesterday and he was exhausted and his legs hurt.

So forgive me if next year I conveniently forget all about April Fools Day!

Cuteness

2011-03-29T09:10:00.000-06:00

Need a little cute in your life?

Then make one of these...

I wanted to leave this on my fence for no reason at all, just to admire it's cuteness. I love banners and swags. I might be making one of these in every color for every occasion. This one is for a class at Paper Cottage.

My little dude

2011-03-22T15:04:00.001-06:00

These adorable pictures of my little guy were taken this summer. He's so serious. He's probably pondering something very deep. Take for instance today when we had this conversation-
D: Mom-tell me all of the swear words you know.
Me: No-I'm not going to teach you swear words.
D: Come On-Just tell me. I need to know for safety reasons!

This page was made with some older Pink Paislee {Old School & 365} using a Pencillines Sketch.

Happy Monday

2011-03-21T13:07:00.000-06:00

Here's a few pages I haven't shared yet, including my first page with the new Echo Park "For The Record" -the best new line! The kids are a tad bit desperate for warm weather. They put on their swin suits and had a beach party in the living room.

And some beach pictures from this summer.

Thanks for stopping by!

2 Quarters

2011-03-17T15:08:00.000-06:00

That's how much I had to pay this little guy to hold still so I could take some pictures. I've been loving the Boy sewing going on at Celebrate the Boy. I wanted to make every single thing I saw, but instead ended up with two.
The first thing I made was this little boy scarf. Anna had one and he wanted one too. One side is black flannel and the other is a cool skateboard camo knit (on the clearance shelf). I basically laid them wrong side together and sewed up the sides with about a 1/4 inch seam. After a few washes the flannel frayed a little to give it a rugged manly look :) When I laid the fabric out the flannel was a bit longer than the knit so I stitched the edges and folded the fabric up into little pockets for all his secret boy treasures.

The next thing I made were these hanging out pants. The cold weather is almost over and most of Dylans pants no longer fit. He's constantly complaining about the waists being too tight. I made these pants out of sweatshirt cotton that is really soft on the inside. I added stripes down the side with a cotton print.

I made the pocket by sandwiching both fabrics together so it is nice and sturdy. I topstitched around the edge and added a belt loop from an old pair of pants as a tab at the top of the pocket.

They are perfect for hanging out at the house days, although he loves them and wants to wear them everyday. And speaking of Dylan-he just walked in informed me that if the pictures are posted on the blog then I owe him another 2 quarters.

Crazy for Cosmo

2011-03-15T17:14:00.001-06:00

Seriously? Who isn't crazy for Cosmo Cricket??

The Cosmo Cricket blog posted a cute sketch last week and played along. I got sick and didn't get mine uploaded in time for the contest, but here's what I made:I'm in love the Tattered Angel glimmer mist I used on this (color is tattered leather). You'll notice I left the journaling block empty. I wanted to add a really good quote about beauty or daughters but can't find anything great. Anyone have any ideas??

Then I made a few cards and went a little mist happy.

{Supplies: Cosmo Cricket mutmeg, girl friday and material girl}

Rubber Stamp WOW

2011-03-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

Tonight at Paper Cottage I will be teaching a rubber stamping class. Here are the cards we will be making featuring embossing, shadow stamping and paper piecing.

Things I'm lovin...

2011-03-03T14:35:00.000-07:00

Just a few things I'm lovin lately.....

Y Celebrate the Boy with Dana at MADE . A whole month of sewing ideas for boys. Whether or not I actually make something is another story, but there is tons of inspiration coming from her site.

Y Our Best Bites The best recipies. Browsing this site is not helping me stay on my diet, but wow-YUM!

Y Echo Park {For The Record}-Finally got my hands on this gorgeous new paper line. Can't wait to dig in!

Y Bread-again not helping my diet, but I am loving fresh bread. My old squeaky breadmaker has been working doubletime. I got this book from the library and am now buying my own copy. The recipies are in weight measurements which is a bit confusing, but there is a conversion table in the front. Worth it though-I've tried 4 of the recipies and all were perfect and delish.

Y And these 2 yahoos. The list would not be complete without them.

From the weekend..

2011-02-28T15:43:00.001-07:00

Just a few layouts to share today. The first is my version of Sketch #108 from Sketch Inspiration.

This is Dylan anticipating his first bite of his gigantic Hershey kiss. I tortured him a bit and took some pics before I let him eat it. When his grandma dropped it off for him he said "oh-that looks expensive." He's such a nut.

Nest up is my submission for the Scrap Attack Scrapbooking Little Yellow Bicycle contest. I used LYB Clothesline which is actually a very girly line but I managed to make it boyish. The cool black & white shoelace from Scarlet Lime helped. This page is Dylan on the computer. He calls web pages "dot coms".

Entertaining him all day while his sister is at school is quite the chore. Lets just say we've both become experts at Candyland, Uno and Connect 4.

On a roll...

2011-02-23T16:13:00.001-07:00

I was on a bit of a scrapbook binge this weekend. It seems like my scrapbooking time is harder to come by these days. Not sure why-just a bunch of random things seem to always come up. That and the fact that someone in my family has been sick since Thanksgiving in a rotating germ fest. Sick of it! So I took advantage of the online crop at Scrap Attack scrapbooking this weekend and got some things made:

Handmade Flowers

2011-02-16T15:18:00.000-07:00

Later this month I'm teaching a Handmade Flowers class at Paper Cottage. Here are a few of the cards we are making using the Echo Park {Life is Good} line. These were so fun to make-sign up for the class or a kit if you are local.

V-DAY

2011-02-14T13:31:00.001-07:00

Proof that I am a mother:

There is a large alligator growing in my bathtub. Do not be alarmed. He isn't real, only one of those slimy grow 10 times it's size toys.

Legos in every room.

A small abandoned tankini laying in the middle of my bedroom floor. Part of Anna's Ancient Egyptian costume from last night-huh?

Lego Star Wars undies laying on the bathroom floor.

Cupcake sprinkles on the kitchen floor from this mornings pancakes which were made special by adding said sprinkles. Of course it is waaaay funner to poor them yourself and well-not many made it to the pancake.

Aproximatley 1/2 of the dishes in the sink are mismatched plastic cups with various cartoon characters on them.

The vacumn is now a mode of transportation. It was left out last night and now has a small stuffed dog riding it.

All of the things that make me smile and drive me crazy at the same time. Happy Valentines Day!

(v-day image courtesy of Free Pretty Things)

A little Love

2011-02-06T08:46:00.000-07:00

How about a few projects for Valentine's Day? I've been busy creating love projects for Paper Cottage and thought I'd share a few. First up-some fun valentines cards:
I've been playing with Echo Park's {BE MINE} line too. I love the colors int his line. Here's a few quick cards and a layout I made:

Nook Crop

2011-01-28T14:38:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the Scrapbook Nook Virtual Crop. I had planned to scrap the weekend away but as usual one thing led to another and I only got a few pages done. Here's what I made:
I have the sewing bug again and have a few projects started. Stay tuned for the final outcome :)
BTW-the sewing bug is a good thing as opossed to the flu bug that has been lingering in our house the past few weeks. We've all had it one by one so it's been a looong month. Does anyone watch Parks & Rec? I thought this was so funny last night-I know that feeling.

My Minds Eye Blog Challenge

2011-01-20T23:54:00.000-07:00

Getting these in just under the wire. Here are a few cards I made for the My Minds Eye sketch challenge. Most of the papers are from the Quite Contrary line.

Average Humans

2011-01-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

This is for my mom who laughs when I tell her Anna's messes are making me insane. She says someday I will really miss it. But really-I can't imagine a world where I would open a door and hope to find this-

That's right-it's a giant spiderweb made of yarn. She said she was doing a science experiment to see if the average human could make a spiderweb.

And guess what-it turns out they can. Average Humans are also great at making giant messes!

She's creative-I'll give her that!