Cherish Too

Do you ever finish a layout that you thought was one of your best and then look back later and think "I wish I'd moved this or added that?" That is what happened with this layout. Something about the flowers was bugging me! Out came the UnDu (can't live without this stuff!) and up came the flowers. Shuffled them around and now I'm happy!

Here is the original



and now the improved

What do you think? I'm a firm believer in constructive criticism :)

Cherish

Cherish is a word I'm learning to appreciate. This past weekend at my scrap retreat, I mulled the meaning of this word around in my head. Cherish seemed to be a fitting title for this layout featuring my daughter and her Grandpa John. No journaling on this one, the title says it all. After losing my mother 3 years ago, I'm much more aware of how much I cherish my family and friends. My children are so lucky to have 3 Grandpa's and a Grandma left to love and spoil them.

I was in a very sentimental, shabby chic kind of mood when I created this layout...

and I couldn't wait to break out this Basic Grey Kissing Booth paper!

Love these gorgeous flowers from Petaloo but I only had two left :(  Rummaged around in my ribbon until it struck me that I could make my own. Can you guess which one is mine? (answer at bottom of post)



There are bits from so many companies on here! You should have seen my table when I was finished :)

My love affair with Thickers will never end :)

That little green flower is a hitchhiker! I just noticed him as I was typing this.

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper, stickers: Basic Grey; letter stickers: American Crafts; flowers: Petaloo, K & Co., Maya Road, Prima; stick pins: Maya Road; gem flourishes: Zva Creative; pearls: Doodlebug; punch: Fiskars; doilies: Martha Stewart; ink: Ranger; acrylic stamp: Glitz Designs; adhesive: 3L, Scotch; misc: vintage buttons and trims.

*The top flower on the lower left of the page is mine*

I have a couple of more layouts to share but you'll have to wait until my guest spot on the Little Yellow Bicycle blog and the reveal of the Scrap Room's August kit, to see the rest...so stay tuned :}}



Cards with Pebbles Sunnyside *The ScrapRoom*

The July Doubleshot Kit from The Scraproom included the Sunnyside line from Pebbles and Summer Fresh from Simple Stories. After completing 2 layouts I decided to make as many cards As I could from the leftovers. Here are the results!

Went simple and elegant with the first one.

Feelin' the banner trend right now :)

A little punch magic...

A little birdie told me :)

and my personal favorite! Look... I actually stamped! Colored him in with pencil I don't have any of those fancy markers :)

A closeup of his cuteness :)

One more layout to share using the Sunnyside Doubleshot Kit and then moving on to use up the Summer Fresh goodness. Hoping to "kill" my first kit by the end of the month! Come on over to http://scrap-room.com/ and http://thescraproomblog.blogspot.com/  for more inspiration and check out The ScrapRoom store too!



Second day of the yard sale today. My faithful friends (Michelle & Mona) manned it all afternoon yesterday so I could pick Matthew up from U of M. He was ready to come home :) I think he'll need a week to recover! He's bruised, blistered, scratched, sunburned, mat burned and just plain sore & worn out. So is his Momma!

Welcome to the Big House!

This is a phrase coined by the University of Michigan to welcome fans to their football stadium in Ann Arbor Michigan. I've always dreamed of going to a U of M game but tickets are hard to come by and expensive to boot. My brother in law is a graduate of the U of M and is a season ticket holder. My son, husband, and many nephews have been to games thanks to uncle Steve :) Alas, no tickets left for football crazy sisters in law :(

Because the tickets are so precious, I'd never had a chance to go to a game until last fall. One of my patients and her husband were U of M fans too and we had some lively conversations about football while she was being induced. Much to my surprise, her husband returned a couple of weeks later and gave me 2 tickets to a game!!! Awww...and they thought of me. I was floored! After I picked myself up and hugged the heck out of him, I ran to make sure that I wasn't scheduled to work! Lol!

My son was rather disgusted by my enthusiasm, in his terrific teenage way, and rolled his eyes a lot (as you can see in the photos) but he had a great time too ;)

This is one of those loaded with photos layouts. I just couldn't choose! Thank goodness for Sketch Support, Allison Davis has the greatest multi photo sketches.

Traditional themed paper was just too predictable, so I spritzed spray ink onto the background cardstock and then stamped the letter "M" randomly, to create my own patterned paper.

A good rummage through my stash turned up some appropriate goodies. Like the tickets from Little Yellow Bicycle and diecuts from SEI.

Basic Grey chipboard covered in paint and then stamped for texture.

 The American flag looked so beautiful against the sea of people :) 

Who'd of thought that Basic Grey "PB&J" would look good with Authentique "Genuine"?! Love those chevrons!

Off to dinner. My husband the chef made T- bone steaks with sauteed mushrooms and onions, oven roasted garlic butter and chive potatoes and...Oops, he forgot the vegetables. Guess I'll have to whip up a tossed salad. A woman can't have everything :)

Happy Easter and a "Top Secret" layout

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day! I'm in taking a rest from my gardening chores and thought I'd post a layout I finished last week. Love the "Konnichiwa" line from Basic Grey. My friend Teresa, owner of Niles Scrapbooking Ect., had an extra layout kit available and I snapped it up!

Back when my kids were in grade school I started sending sugar cookies for all the class parties. They were a BIG hit with the teachers and a tradition was born. Now the cookies are good but it's the icing that makes them irresistible. It is a family recipe that my Mom gave me and she never gave it out to anyone. I actually tweaked the recipe and made it even better :) I sent my camera to school with my daughter on the day of the party and asked Mrs. Stubbs to please take some pictures because I had to work that day. These are a few of the photos I found :)

Still on my corner rounding kick.

The note was a great touch! Sorry, but no go...

The cookie recipe is on the front and icing on back. Used foam dots to pop up "Secret".

Some days I regret starting this particular tradition. I can hear the collective "GASP" now :) Little did I know I would be making these cookies 2 or 3 times a year for the Student Council Bake Sale for the next 6 years! Think a quadruple batch of rolled and cut out cookies, covered with icing that has to dry thoroughly, then packaged in cellophane bags and decorated with a homemade topper. Holy cookie Batman!

Over the last couple of years, the cookies have gone from elaborate to simple and the toppers have turned into twist ties. I just can't bear to see those sad faces at conferences...cookie-less faces :( They've become such a hit that they are usually nearly sold out before conferences actually start!

Thank you Mrs. Stubbs (Jennifer) for helping make our cookies such a success!

A Little Bo Bunny and Imaginisce

You know those little stamps, the ones you can't resist because they're only a $1 or so and they are so cute... I have a shoebox full and most have never been used.

 I'm so ashamed.

 Not.

Finally pulled them out and experimented a little! Used markers to color in the first one by Imaginisce. The tiny border stamp is theirs also. The rock in "U Rock" is from Studio G. 

Used the "Stand and Salute" Cricut cartridge for the stars

Cardstock: Stampin' Up, Bo Bunny; patterned paper: Imaginisce; letter sticker "U": Recollections; ink:Tsukinenko; markers: Marvy Uchida; adhesive: 3L, Tombow.

I noticed in several magazines that not everyone sticks to standard card sizes , so I decided to be daring and try some new sizes. Continuing my goal of using scraps, I came up with these two.

Love these texting abbreviation stamps by TPC Studio.

Cardstock: Stampin' Up, patterned paper: Bo Bunny; stamp: Studio G (Thanks So Much); chipboard letters: Die Cuts with a View; chipboard: Bo Bunny; ink: Tsukinenko; baker's twine: W R Memory Keepers; adhesive: Tombow; misc: buttons.

On a totally unrelated note...

Why did both of my children come home today and just tell me an hour ago that they have a band concert tomorrow night?!!! Now don't get me wrong, I know teachers tell students information and said information is quickly forgotten, but a note or email would be nice! Sure we want our kids to be responsible and dependable but face it, they mess up! So what is the harm in sending us parents a reminder?

Deep breath...

My Poor Car...

Some may remember last Christmas that I had my  1st run in (pun intended) with a deer. Unfortunately on the interstate while doing 75mph. I was pretty rattled and let's just say the deer didn't make it. This is the resulting damage. Can you believe they didn't total it!? I can't remember the exact amount but it was close to the amount needed to do so :(

Started with a piece of Core'dinations cardstock and sanded it to tone down the yellow, then stamped on pearlescent paint with some bubble wrap to represent snow.

Used the Cricut cartridge " Joys of the Season" for the glitter snowflakes. Crate Paper patterned paper.

I'm not sure I'm in love with the brackets, what do you think? Should they stay or should they go?

Used another lovely http://www.sketchsupport.com/ sketch.

Mimi turned 13 yesterday and I had to work :( Thankfully Daddy picked up the slack, She received her 1st cell phone and an I Tunes card. Mommy picked her up some cute earrings to wear with her Halloween costume. Pics of which will be coming soon!

Thanks for stopping, off to babyland :)

Strength and Beauty

There are a myriad of words to describe her right now.  Evolving, growing, changing, are just a few. Her sense of humor is wry & delightful. She is so compassionate, talking to the new kids and inviting them to sit with her at lunch. Experimenting with fashion, she is developing her own style and becoming a trend setter. She reads voraciously, going through books like water! Pop & old rock are some of her favorites but she shuns the latest teen stars like Justin Bieber and  Demi Lovato, prefering the Beatles and Cage the Elephant. Lovin' this girl so much!

Strong and beautiful are just a couple of these words. Photos are from one of her soccer practices this summer. It was so hot and humid that day. She just kept working, even when some of the others were dragging and whining.

The strip of paper at the top looks a little off but it is just the angle, the photographer was experiencing difficulties :) The pattterned paper, banner, leaves and cursive letter stickers are Basic Grey.

"Strength" was stamped with a Technique Tuesday acrylic stamp set, cut out and "Beauty" layered on top.

The tendrils are those metal swirly thingys from Making memories, I think they were meant to function as paper clips. Bling & flowers from Prima. Inspired by a Sketchy Thursdays sketch. I used also used this sketch for my "Fancy Footwork" layout http://clubcreatingkeepsakes.com/media/p/681898.aspx .

Still busy in baby land! It's going to exceptionally so until mid October. Starting the big move on Monday. Our unit is going to be remodeled and we have to move the post partum unit up one floor, yikes! Labor & delivery will stay below. It's going to make for some interesting times. Happy weekend!

Phew! I think I over did it!

Spent a couple of hours outside hauling brush from the big storm. Makes me realize just how much work is going to be involved! Very sad that the Magnolia is not salvagable. Snowball bush took a beating and half of the Bottlebrush Buckeye is gone. Hoping nature will work her magic with some judicious pruning and loving care.

The last week or so has been too hot & humid to work outside, so I did a little scrappin'. When I first saw the Elizabeth Park line from Little Yellow Bicycle the colors seemed a little bold, but like many papers it grew on me :}} Slowly working my way through the mass of really bad photos from when my kids were littte. So many times I took just 2 photos. Mimi walking...2 photos. Matthew playing legos...2 photos. You get the idea. Plus almost all the indoor shots have very dark backgrounds, some of them almost black!

I adore these pics of Mimi, just look at how she is wrinkling her chin as she makes sure she gets the very last drop! The title is double stamped, once in grey and then again in pink slightly overlapping. Love the effect.

Some of the butterflies are punched and some fussy cut from the adorable butterfly patterned paper.

Then they are stitched down with floss and gems added.

Sweet Treat Supply List:
Cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper: Little Yellow Bicycle; acrylic stamps: Inkadinkado; ink: Clearsnap, Stampin' Up; spray ink: Clearsnap; stickers: Little Yellow Bicycle; journaling spot: Jillibean Soup; punches: EK Success, Martha Stewart; gems: Kaiser Kraft, Recollections; pen: Sakura; adhesive: Tombow; misc: floss, thread.

More layouts to share coming soon!