Digging Out From Under the Snowdrifts?

Well, you'd think that with the date of March 22nd, winter would have been OVER.  You'd be wrong if you live in Michigan.  Darn you, Puxatawny Phil...you lied!  So, our spring break was SUPPOSED to start tomorrow, Friday, March 25th...but....we've had the past two days of school off because of snow and ice.  Can you believe it??

In honor of winter's neverending grip upon my state, here are a bunch of Crate Paper "Snow Day" line layouts!  Two of these are from our last major snowstorm and THREE snow days off in a row--on Groundhog's Day.  I should have known then!!  :)

So with this year's snow days and a couple of Christmas layouts taken care of, I was ready to turn my attention to Christmas cookie decorating from LAST year...

Hungry yet?  Maybe it's time for a tea party with Grandpa all dressed up too--wearing a flower on his hat, and his fancy WORK gloves!

Maybe we should work off some of those calories with a little exercise...we can go for a run...

OR, we could do a little cheerleading!

Now maybe we should go to school for a little book learnin'...

And just for your viewing pleasure, check out this face!!

Gotta LOVE it!

Hope you're warmer than we are, and happy SPRING break!  :)

Wendy

Plowing Through the Backlog of Pictures!

Today, I took a little R and R and sat down at my scrapping table starting at 8:45 am.  Yep, I downed my bowl of Lucky Charms (since I have young children, I can raid their cereal supply), and I dove into some crafting.  With the whole family having been sick over the course of the past two weeks, we were pretty down and out and just into survival mode.  Now that we have recovered, I could PLAY a little!

I started with some new supplies I picked up at my LSS, The Scrapbook Nook, yesterday.  I've had this picture of Erin since last May, but only today did I finally have the right paper for it.  Fittingly, it's a paper from Fancy Pants "Lilac House" line.  I was going for a very soft, romantic feeling with this picture, and these colors worked for me.  I also used my new punch I got yesterday, and the journaling card too!  It's funny how just a few purchases can jump start some creativity.

This LO includes some Basic Grey Kioshi as well which I picked up a year ago, and I haven't used at all.  I love how the soft colors and spring theme worked for this picture of my Erin.  I also used my favorite technique taught to me many moons ago by Vanessa, the owner of the Scrapbook Nook.  I put adhesive foam on the back of the butterflies and bird stickers and then powdered the rest of the sticky back away.  Instant dimension!

While digging in my scrap drawers for some goodies to use, I found this LO I'd been working on a few weeks ago and got frustrated with at the time.  So, I shoved it out of sight and walked away.  It still wound up being very simple, but I was able to finish it up today.  These pictures are from Christmas TWO years ago!  My best friend, Anita, bought my girls complete muffin/cupcake baking sets, and then they had some quality time together in the kitchen.

After doing two LO's of Erin, I knew I'd better turn my attention to Paige or I'd be in deep Mommy doo-doo.  This Christmas, Paige had her gift dream come true--Santa got her a DS like her friends have.  She really wasn't expecting to get one (I LOVE that about her), so when she opened it, she was honestly surprised.  I used some Reminisce Unwritten papers, flowers, journaling cards, borders and stickers I still had in my stash from summer 2009.  Feels good to dig out some of my stash and make it useful again!  Plus, the colors were perfect for the color of Paige's new DS!  Matchy, matchy!  :)

For my final bit of fun on the day, I did both of my girls' first days of school LO's using all October Afternoon papers and stickers.  I love that company!  I pulled out all of the journaling die cut cards from one of their lines, and used the leftover sheet to create a frame for my LO.  In this way, I was able to fit in several pictures from both of their first days on one 12x12, and it was seriously a LOT of fun!  In fact, I did Paige's first, and loved it so much that I dug back into my stash so I could do a mirror one for Erin too!

Tomorrow is an eventful day in our lives here.  My Paige will be turning EIGHT years old.  I can hardly believe it was that long ago that I cuddled my baby girl in my arms for the first time.  We are having a bowling party, so I'm expecting to get some fun photos!  :)

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy End of January!!  ~Wendy

Another One Bites the Dust! (Snow day, that is...)

Yay for a four day weekend!  You know what's even better than getting a snow day call in the morning?  Getting a snow day call before you even go to bed the night before!  Woo hoo!  I went to sleep at 9:30 last night, and other than several wake-ups throughout the night (thanks, dog), I slept until 8:00.  That's over ten hours of sleep for me!  What to do with all of that energy?  Get creative, of course!

Here's my Gracie Bug outside on our front deck.  I used the Bo Bunny Winter Joy line because the colors were just perfection with her coat and hat.  The journaling reads:  "Just as each snowflake is an original work of art, You, too, Erin are one of a kind.  You brighten each of my days with your innocent, pure sparkle."

I covered the back of the snowflake stickers with powder after putting a pop dot in the center of them.  That way they have some dimensional off the page.  I also cross-stitched the two sides of the LO with purple floss.  (There goes one hour of my life I'll never get back!)

Hope you enjoy!!  Thanks for stopping in!

Snow Day Yay!

I started obsessively watching the weather two days ago...wintery mix predicted for Thursday night into Friday.  Oh, how I wanted a snow day!  A freebie!  But, I woke up this morning at 5:30 as usual with no early morning gritty voiced phone call telling me there was a snow day.  Bummer!  Onto the shower and being completely dressed and ready to go.  Imagine my surprise when my phone rang at 6:24.  That is EXTREMELY late for a snow day call, but YAHOOOOO God sent enough ice to give this girl a snow day.  I love you, God!  :)

Strangely enough, I've been using this day to be domestic (which is really not my bag, ordinarily).  I made pancakes for breakfast.  Chili is simmering in the crock pot.  Peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies are baked...  The kitchen has been thoroughly cleaned about five times now.  I think I deserve a little break for the moment to post a layout I made last weekend.  (We'll just look away from that carpet that needs to be vacuumed, 'kay?  If I vacuumed it, the dog would just immediately spread his crunchy little doggie bits of food right back all over the floor lying in wait for shoeless feet to fall upon them.  Those things hurt!)

So............now that I have a SNOW DAY (did I mention that yet?), it seems the perfect time to show off a fall layout I made using a mix of items from my stash.  We've got Basic Grey here, Maya Rd., American Crafts, Prima, Doodlebug, etc. 

As always, the picture doesn't really do it justice.  Winter in Michigan is a hard time to get a picture using natural light!  My girl Paige was out "raking" the leaves (which involved using a snow shovel) so she could jump into the piles.  I ran to get my ladder and took some photos from above the scene.  I love how this shot of her turned out!  Such a little impish face enjoying one of the most basic of childhood joys in the fall!

I sealed up my Maya Rd. kraft envelope and then cut the side open so I could use it as a pocket for my journaling.  These prima golden flowers have been in my stash for at least 6 months, and I thought they added a nice touch for the fall leaves.  Basic Grey Sugar Rush is the orange paper, and Basic Grey's Max and Whiskers form the half circles.  :)

Thanks for taking a peek!  I'm hoping to get one or two more done this afternoon before we have to head out for dance lessons (the big recital is next week, so NO snow day there!) and the staff Christmas party.
In the meantime, I'll be cranking the Christmas music and enjoying the peace and quiet.  (The girls are ourside in the white stuff running off the chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies.  Yay for me again!!).

Tidings of Comfort and Joy...Comfort and Joy!

Last week before all of the craziness began of shopping and Thanksgiving and company and parent/teacher conferences and Scholastic Book fair started, I found some time to get a little peace and sanity!

This first layout is another of Fancy Pants Wishful Thinking line.  When I finished with this one, I cut all of my remaining papers up for card making.  Erin got a Bible for her birthday this year, and she was just as delighted with it as she was with her Mobigo (video game system).  It really touched my heart she would be thrilled with having her own Bible.

Unfortunately, the picture of this layout isn't the best with that touchy November sun in the great up north, but you can get the gist of it.  On the bingo card, it had all of the digits of her birthday (7-20-10) so I used my new Big Bite to circle them up.  Fun!

I also dug into my Basic Grey stash for this layout from our jaunt to the pumpkin farm this past October.  We did the corn maze for the first time ever, and my hubby powered through that thing like no one's business.  They warned us before we started that it could take as long as 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes to complete.  He victoriously announced as we exited it that we had made it in 45 minutes!  Basic Grey's Origin's line was JUST perfect for these pictures and subject.

I included the map of the corn maze because it was pretty complicated--at least to me.  If I'd been the guide, we might still be wandering through there! 
Thanks for stopping by, and happy belated Thanksgiving.  Maybe I should be wishing you a Merry Early Christmas!!  :)  Wendy

You've Come A Long Way, Baby!

Hello!  Welcome to another installment of....This is Wendy's life!  I'm your host, Wendy. 
Catchy, isn't it?

Anyway, I was given the assignment of working with Bella Blvd.'s line, "Lovey Dovey," for my design team duties, and immediately I thought of a picture I had of Erin that was just the right style and colors to use for this line.  Of course, I'd scrapped this picture way back when....you know...in the Stone Ages of 2006 when I first took this picture.  Want to see that LO?  I thought you'd never ask.  Here's an oldie...(not so sure about the "goodie" part.)

Back in my beginning stages, this was a pretty standard layout for me.  Flat border along the bottom, flat border along the side, a couple of matted pictures, and SHAZAAM!  A beautiful layout to treasure!  Of course, it would have been nice if I'd thought to put a DATE on the thing.  I'm GUESSING Erin is about 8 months old here. 

So now, 4 years + later, we have a retake on one of these pictures.  I still kept the design pretty simple, but this time we have some dimension, some sewing, some journaling(!) and some paper layering.

I love how the background paper this time just makes her picture pop off the page.  It's probably hard to tell, but I lifted up one of the "Loads of Love" strips and the pink elephant in the border.  (If you'd like a larger view so you can read the journaling, click on the picture.)

 I can't believe how quickly time has passed!  Just recently I've had three different people mention how Erin's lost her baby face...she's growing up.  Thinking about those comments and looking at a picture I took of her on our deck at the end of the summer, I came up with another layout I titled "Changes." 

Lately Erin's been dealing with some emotional growing pains (and exhaustion, I think).  For the past two weeks, we've had complete MELT DOWNS on Friday afternoon trying to get to dance class.  This week, I couldn't even get her into the building.  So, we came home last night, and I gave her a bath and dinner.  After that she laid down and sang and hummed to herself for an hour (literally!).  She was happy as a clam to be doing NOTHING.  Today we are taking a break at our house.  It's 1:23, and I'm not even out of my pajamas yet.  When I announced this morning that we weren't going to go anywhere today, Erin cheered!  The girls have been happily coloring and playing all day, with hardly even a disagreement. 
I think Erin's days of dance may be done for awhile.  She doesn't seem to want to go, although she did say she wished her lessons were on Tuesdays.  Could it be that by Friday she is just fried from long days at school? 
My point to all of these musings are that it can be very stressful sometimes to be the Mom and not know what to do.  Thank God we have Him to guide us...

Five Years of Sisterhood

I decided the other night I wanted to do some baby picture scrapping even though my youngest baby is five years old.  Looking through the albums, I came across a picture of Paige holding Erin shortly after she was born, and I thought of the picture I'd just taken this past August on the front porch when Paige spontaneously scooped Erin up into her arms.  (It's hilarious that Paige can pick Erin up when they weigh within two pounds of the same weight!)  Anyway, trying to go to sleep that night, I thought about doing this LO with the two pictures together.  Throw in a little bit of Fancy Pants Wishful Thinking line and a wee touch of Prima and I have a layout that just showcases their close bond!

 The journaling reads:  "These two pictures~taken in August 2005 and August 2010~show a beautiful friendship just born and now thriving.  I love how Paige is holding Erin in both pictures.  Sure, they fight like sisters do, yet they depend on each other too."

Thanks for looking!

A Ride in the Park

I crawled out from under the steamroller of life for an hour or two yesterday and satisified my crafty needs!  Here's my Paigey girl who learned to ride without training wheels this summer.  The journaling notes that she is a bit older than most to get rid of the extra wheels, but we don't have any cement at our house, so they don't get to ride bikes all that often.
She got the trainers removed and learned to ride at her Nini and Papa's house, which is neat because it's the same place I learned to ride 28 some years ago!  I finally played with my Echo Park A Walk in the Park pack for this one.  Great cheerful patterns and bright colors!  I used a fair number of pop dots to add a little dimension.

                                                             Thanks for stopping in! 

One Lucky Ducky

Whoa!  And we're off!  These past two weeks have been full of school, and homework, and soccer practices and games, and cheerleading clinics, and dance classes and piano lessons, and meetings, and...and...and.... scrapping one LO for the survival of my creativity.

But, how fun and bright is this??!  Sassafras Lass' new line Count Me In mixed with a fair sprinkling of Prima beauty!  Here are my two beauties from a photo taken in August.  I loved the sparkly butterflies and bling lines!  And I am definitely a lucky ducky to have my two girls.

I used a mat from a picture frame I'd bought to hold another picture, and I chalked it a bit to dull down the sheer white.  I am digging the numbered patterned paper here too.  I've seen it in other designer's layouts, and now I've finally gotten to use it in my own.

I have so many awesome pictures just waiting to be scrapped, and I'm hoping to get some time tomorrow for those.  But in the meantime, one more happy bit of news!  I was the August winner of the sketch contest at Liz Qualman's blog!!  Woo hoo!  Check it out at http://lizqualman.blogspot.com/2010/09/august-sketch-challenge-winner.html !  Erin is now convinced she is famous.  :)

"Don't cry because it's over. . .

...smile because it happened."  I swear Dr. Seuss was one wise guy.  Have you ever read some of his quotes?  What a profound man he was.  Anyway, I won't cry because my summer vacation with the girls is over...I'll smile because it happened.  I realize I'm extremely fortunate to have a job that allows me to be a stay at home Mom at all--even if it's only for 3 months of the year.

Speaking of not crying because it's over...while doing my DT work with Sassafras Lass's Mix and Mend, I went back to some baby pictures of my girls!  I haven't had any "baby" scrapping since I first started, so it's fun to go back with some of these shots and do them up in my style now.  Plus, I honestly don't think I'd ever scrapped either of these photos.

First up, Paige with a much younger puppy, Alex.  He's turning 12 this January, and still holding his own.  Paige has always LOOOOOVED Alex.  Probably more than he wanted to be loved, on more than one occasion.  In this layout, Alex had been sent down to doggie time out (the bathroom) for some offense or another.  I can't remember why he was there, but the point is that sweet little Paige just felt for him.  So she toddled herself right down there to the bathroom and climbed on top to give him a sympathy hug.  She truly, "had his back."

You can see from the expression on his face that Alex was so grateful for her attention and empathy.  Yes, sir.  The Mix and mend line is really user friendly.  In fact, it feels like you're cheating.  I didn't do much here beyound adding the chipflowers, borders, title, journaling and pearls.  The rest of what looks like some incredible layering, is actually already on the paper!

Next up, a picture of my Erin when she was two years old.  I had some fun with my brand new Martha Stewart butterfly punch on this one!  The owner of my LSS, Vanessa, had actually ordered the punch for herself, but I saw it and fell in love with it.  I've seen it used beautifully on so many layouts.  So, she very kindly let me buy it instead, and I promised her we could have shared custody.  :)

As always, you can click on the picture to see it in a larger size, but I also played with my macro setting to show off a few of the details.

I punched the butterflies out of a different sheet of Mix and Mend patterned paper and embellished with some Prima e-line pearls.  I love the delicacy of these beauties!

And then...

a little crochet flower and some prima ribbon and a chipboard flower, oh my!  Plus, one more butterfly.  I tell you what, I'm going to get my money's worth out of this punch!  Oh the possibilities!

And then, just when you thought Mix and Mend was only for girly or old fashioned pictures....I used it on a zoo (yes, ZOO!) layout I had started but gotten nowhere with.  All I had down were the pictures on the Basic Grey Just the Basics paper.  Then I gave up and threw the pages on my shelf.  They just happened to get pulled back down last night, and I saw how the Mix and Mend colors would look great with them!  I still had a ton of journaling blocks and borders to use up, and so....

I couldn't leave the fussy blue flowers and such on the journaling tag I used, so I covered the middle up with some Sass playing cards I had in my stash.  I was very pleased with how this turned out in the end!  And, I'm only a year and 2 1/2 months behind on scrapping these pictures.  :)

I would love to have some more "followers" for my blog here, so if you have any friends who enjoy reading the rambling thoughts of a mid-thirties woman, please send them my way!! 

Thanks for stopping in, and enjoy your Labor Day. 

P.S.  Despite my optimistic title, I may still internally cry a little tomorrow night.  Feel free to send some comments my way to cheer me up!