We All Fall Down

Some of us more than others. Goober that I am. I spent the evening scrambling to get this layout finished for the Little Yellow Bicycle Fall/ Winter challenge. Emphasis on the Fall and Winter. I saw the sketch and the word "challenge" and ran off to see if I could get a layout done in time. Should have read the original blog post...because it says to use any of the their Fall and Winter lines. I used "Elizabeth Park", a Spring line from long ago. The pictures I wanted to scrap needed a springy theme, Voila!

We try to have a little Summer "get together" every year. The kids invite their friends and parents over to visit. It's a good excuse to sit around and snack on chips & salsa and S'mores. The girls love to play on the swings, dance and build pyramids. This year they were one short for the perfect pyramid, so Lerita volunteered. Hilarity ensued :)

Had to take this photo at night and then Photoshop the crud out of it :) Colors are a tad off, I'll have to hope for some sun tomorrow and do a retake. I have several layouts that need the same treatment. This is the  downside of living in Michigan and being cursed. Well, maybe cursed is a little strong but my as my Dad has pointed out...it is always sunny on my days to work and cloudy, rainy, or gloomy when I'm off. Go figure. 

I see a lot of people are doing year in review type posts. I'm way too lazy for that! Takes too long to think that hard :P  Thank you for finding my blog and becoming a follower, look for more exciting things ( giveaways and such) in the coming year. Hope you have a Happy New Year!

Santa's Little Helper

Is the Christmas line I won on the Imaginisce blog this Fall. I was so excited to open that box. Oodles of scrappy goodness at my fingertips. Since they so generously provided the loot, I created my design team entry with it! Alas, I wasn't one of the lucky ones...maybe next time :) I did scrap two Christmas layouts, which is quite an accomplishment considering Christmas layouts are my nemesis. The first is from 2009.

Cut the large curvy label with the Storybook Cricut cartridge.

Added gems and twine to this cute tree and as always...foam squares. I think I keep 3L in business :)

Buttons by Fancy Pants, machine stitching and  "Stickles" glitter glue for that extra "pop".

Last years Christmas photos were a perfect fit for this sketch from Sketch Support. Have I mentioned I love this sketch blog :)

Title is diecut with the "Opposites Attract" Cricut cartridge.

My brother in law in payback mode (on the right) :)



I'm so happy my sister in law Debbie takes photos and emails them to me or no one would remember what I look like ;)

and more foam squares...



More glitter glue, gems and...(do you see a theme here?) foam squares!

Aren't these diecuts adorable. I think that they are my favorite goodies of the lot.

I love premade embellishments for cards, it's so quick and easy!

Martha Stewart border punch (one of my favs) and a little machine stitching. Then my version of a rosette ornament. Unfortunately you can't see the pretty glitter at all.

Thanks for sticking with me through this lengthy post! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are going to have a fabulous new year!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas...

and a Happy New Year! The children are all tucked into their beds after our annual family celebration (my hubby's side) and this Mom and Dad are ready to call it a night. Morning brings brunch with my small family,  my Dad and Stepdad. Hope you are having a wonderful holiday with friends and family.

 

New layouts to share coming next week.

Dutch Village

Journaling reads: When my Aunt Carolyn And Cousin Chris came to visit we made a trip to Dutch Village with Grandpa John and Grandma Linda. Matthew @ 19 months. Date: July 28, 1998. Holland Michigan.

Matthew had a grand time running around. First the carousel, then the petting zoo and finally the giant stork. We enjoyed watching his boundless enthusiasm.

It was very bright and sunny that day and the photos are busy so I chose a more subdued color palette.

Cut out circles and fringed them to mimic flowers in Fancy Pants patterned paper.

Buttons and medallion accents are from Little Yellow Bicycle. I can't remember the brand of the chip letters (which is very unlike me) but I do know that I painted and then used Stickles on them, inked the edges and finally, outlined them with marker.

Not sure if I'll find time to post again until after Christmas. Today I'll be going to Dad's and helping him with "activities of daily living", then taking him to the Dr. in Kalamazoo. Then Try to fit in finishing 40 treat toppers, a trip to Benton Harbor for a couple of presents and another batch of cookies. Probably won't get all that accomplished, but here's to trying :)

School's Out!

The two beasts were so wound up last night, we could hardly get them to bed! Today is the start of Winter Break and they apparently thought "What's one more day?". They are dragging tail today :)

 Matthew's first jazz band concert was Wednesday. He was in panic mode. Having never been a band member prior to this year was definitely a disadvantage. He wanted to back out, "Mom I'm gonna mess up!" but our mantra here is "Never be a quitter", and off he went. Turns out he did mess up a bit, but it wasn't noticeable. Due in part to the fact that he was hiding behind the piano and that the horn section drowned him out. Only a couple of really bad photos for this Mom to scrap, I'll have to make do ;)

Like how he has his back to the audience during pre show warm ups.

Here is my one photo of him during the actual concert, see his head behind the piano to the left.

Much better success at Mimi's band concert on Thursday. She was front and center, just a little hidden at times behind the band director's podium.

Later she said "Mom, they weren't paying attention to Mr. Murphy" in response to this picture.

It's amazing how much they've improved in a year. Especially after hearing the 6th grade play :)

I LOVE this picture! This expression is in reaction to the band director's face when he saw her reindeer antlers.

Mimi reminds me of the elf that wanted to be a dentist from the classic "Rudolph the red Nosed reindeer".

A sea of Santa hats and one reindeer :}  I have the feeling she's going to be a little bit of a rebel, in a good way. She is talking about possibly becoming a vegetarian. Loves the Beatles and the Gorillaz. Reads voraciously, I could go on & on but I don't want to run you off.

Time to pick up Matt from wrestling practice. I'll be MIA this weekend. Have to help some very tired pregnant ladies be happy for Christmas! Hope to see you Monday.

My Boyz

You can't see my husband in this picture but I can clearly remember the expression on his face...pure joy. Before his accident he could play with abandon and not worry about the after effects. That is why I treasure these photos so much. Matthew has a cast on his arm in this photo, the result of a fall from my arms to the carport floor. You gasp...I know, I felt terrible. Those of you who have  strong willed boys may empathize with this. He threw himself backwards out of my arms because he wanted to see the dog in her kennel behind him. She barked and he literally flung himself out of my arms! Many tears ensued, his and mine. Thankfully my pediatrician knows I'm not a child abuser (although the x-ray technicians gave me some nasty looks) and could understand my hysterical blubbering over the phone :) I can smile about this now, back then...not so much.

Love how this title turned out. Used the "Boys Will Be Boys" Cricut cartridge, "Herringbone" Cuttlebug embossing folder, and some foam adhesive to create it.

I'm getting into this rosette making craze :) There are so many options and you can customize them!

Popped up the little red "dots" with foam also. Scrounged the star buttons from my stash, I think they are from my "BK" days (before kids). Finally dug into my "Game On" stash of paper from Little Yellow Bicycle. Love it so much I'm having trouble parting with it :)

So busy right now. Concerts, shopping, baking, and wrapping, Oh My! Found time to check my email and found a forward from my FIL, a video of Carrie Underwood singing "How Great Thou Art", reminding me of the true meaning of Christmas and bringing me to tears. I highly recommend having a Kleenex in one hand.



Sweet Summertime...

We sure miss you :)

Envy you southerners right now! Here in Michigan the temps are into the 20's, Couple of inches of snow on the ground, Brrrr. It does make it feel more like Christmas though. Here is the second layout from my Sketch Support Creative Team entry. Oh how I miss those sweet chubby cheeks. Still love them to the moon and back, but I miss the innocence of childhood so much.

Made my own white spray ink with some acrylic paint, water, and sparkly Smooch spray. Can't see it online but it gives it a lovely sea spray effect.

Title and flowers made with the  "Birthday Bash" & "Life is a Beach" Cricut cartridges. Cut 2 layers of the title in orange and one in black to create a subtle shadow.

The colors in the pictures were a perfect match to these Bo Bunny papers.

Mimi and I did some more Christmas shopping today, crossed another one off the list. I splurged on a new Fiskars trimmer and extra blades. Micheals was having a daily deal and all Fiskars products were 50% off. Disappointed at Jo Anns :(  The Spellbinder dies on sale were the "special offer" ones, all of the others were regular price. Of course all the good ones were gone. Searched high & low for a pair of black dress pants for Mimi. After going to three other stores we found them at TJ Maxx, our last stop. Murphy's Law.

Work the next 2 days and then 3 days off :) Maybe some more shopping and a little baking? Can't wait!

I Miss you Mom.

The Holiday's this year are really reminding me how much I miss my Mom. We used to shop together, make cookies, and wrap presents and it hurts to know she can't do these things with her grand kids either.

Everything on this layout has some meaning to me. She loved to crochet and did so right up til a month or so before she passed. She even made scarves for the nursing home employees. She used to sew my clothes when I was little, loved bingo, and watched the cooking channel faithfully (even though she never cooked any of the recipes). She was only in her early 60's when she passed for COPD and Emphysema. Smoking kills.

The journaling reads: Shopping at Hudson's together in your Hot Mama boots with your Micheal Jackson moves (she slipped and did the splits and came back up from them in one motion, just like Micheal Jackson used to do in his videos)...Making Christmas cookies together from family recipes while singing along to Johnny Mathis... Laughing hysterically over the silliest things like "Vont Turkey!" (think Egor and his limp going through the house yelling "Vont Turkey" because it was taking too long to cook) and my "Flashdance" moves and broken toe (done while doing aforementioned moves)... I miss you Mom...

There is some glare in the upper right corner, darn Michigan weather. Used my favorite Anna Griffin diecut to stencil the upper right corner, it had a lot of dark empty space. Gorgeous Crate Paper, paper.

Love the vintage buttons, found them at a nearby antique mall.

Vintage doily, bingo chip and needle holder (rose). Basic Grey laser cut paper on bottom.

The thread in the button was the original thread from when it was cut off the garment, so cool.

To all of those missing loved ones now, I'm right there with you. Hope they have a glorious celebration in heaven with our Saviour. Off to finish a little shopping and then go to a good friend's house for our annual gingerbread house party. The kids aren't so much into the making as the eating anymore but they still love it :)

Sweet Dreams

Before I hit the pillow for some of my own... here is a layout of my sweeties when they were about two and four. I remember smiling when I snuck upstairs and found them sleeping, so alike in their repose. These papers and diecuts from Crate Paper reminded me of all things a child would dream about and more :)

 Used the Cricut "Storybook" cartridge for the background flowers.

Love the old fashioned feel of these papers, reminds me of my childhood for some reason :)

 Tissue flowers are  Martha Stewart and the fabric ones are Recollections.

We had our Thanksgiving today. Eric has this meal down to an art! All the Grandpas agree...YUM! The only item I made was the fruit salad, an old family recipe that my Mom used to make every Thanksgiving too. Sure am missing my Mom a lot right now. Melancholy, that's what I am.

Thanks for visiting!