Reading Together is Fun!

This was one of the slogans for the "Jump Into Reading" program at Mimi's elementary school. Parents were encouraged to come in and read with their children and to help them foster a love for reading at home. It must have worked...she is a voracious reader now, sometimes reading 3 or more books in a weekend! I have to remind her to eat and breathe, she gets so absorbed in a good book :)

Used October Afternoon's Sidewalks line, love the colors and patterns in this line! Yes...this is me, many moons ago. Love it when I find photos of myself that I actually like.

Used one of the adorable flags from this collection as the base for "together".

This image from the Graphically Speaking Cricut cartridge was perfect for this layout! Punched the border from 2 papers and layered to create the fun "circus like" design.

Mimi thinks I should have matched up my journaling to the prompts. I told her that sometimes it's OK to color outside of the lines :}}

Last year I encouraged her to keep a reading journal. We found a pretty blank journaling book and she is jotting down each book she reads. It's fun to look back and see the change in her literary taste buds. I wish I'd done this as a girl, it would be fun to compare our journals and see how much we have in common.

Off to devour the 3rd book in the Hunger Games series, grab a good book and join me!

Track & Field Day

 Mariel found these photos in her room the other day...which is quite a feat. Things go into her room never to appear again! You need a Tetanus shot just to negotiate her floor. Before you say anything remember...she is a teenager, I have to pick my battles wisely and there are plenty of battle worthy subjects to conquer!

Even though it was meant to be a baby line, the colors in this Doodlebug paper were perfect. The soft colors and subtle prints really allow the pictures to be the focus of the page.

Customized the American Craft Thickers with acrylic paint and then covered them with Glossy Accents.

Discovered that my attempt at handwriting isn't nearly as cute as Ali Edwards :P

The flowers are cut using the Paisley Cricut cartridge, the leaves are from the Home Accents cartridge. The top flower layers are cut from vellum and embossed.

Fairly simple and quick...just what I needed to get my mojo going again!

7th grade Volleyball *Out for Publication*

Yea, a new sport to scrap! After years of football and soccer it was fun to scrap about a new sport :) This was Mimi's 1st experience with volleyball. She learned a bunch of new skills and had a lot of fun. I had to relearn all the rules because they have changed since I was in school (hold the old jokes) and don't make a lot of sense in my mind. Being placed on the "B" team was a little blow to her ego but was boosted later by being chosen to go with the "A" team to the a big tournament.

Cardstock: Bazzill, W R Memory Keepers; patterned paper; Crate Paper, My Minds Eye, Imaginisce, Reminisce; journaling spot: My Minds Eye; dimensional stickers: Recollections; gems: Martha Stewart, Making Memories; die cutting machine: Cricut, Provo Craft (Sports Mania cartridge); ink: Stampin' Up; pen: American Crafts, Sakura; adhesive: Recollections, Tombow; misc: Modge Podge, netting (tomato packaging); sketch: Sketch Support.

Used this sketch from Sketch Support as my inspiration

Cut the volleyball border and title on the Cricut using the Sports Mania cartridge. The heart behind the net embellishment is cut from the netting that held tomatoes.

Love the picture of Mimi and her Grandpa Roger :) Used a ruler and pen to add the faux stitching.

Time to go watch American Idol with my hubby, it's my one guilty reality show. Love that Phillip Phillips, although I'm not sure what his parents were thinking when they named him! I know he's gotten a lot of flack from the media but I think he's a cutie :} Don't worry...I'm not going to go all J Lo on you and get myself a 24 year old boyfriend :P

A Week in Photos

Sorry scrappy followers...I just haven't been very motivated to scrap this week! Too much happening, some lovely (and not so lovely) days, and work all conspired against my mojo. I did spend a lot of quality time with friends...and didn't take one photo. What was I thinking?! I did spend some time in between snapping away.

I was so excited when Mimi told me she wanted to try shot put! I tried not to show too much excitement in case she decided it wasn't for her. She is a natural, and with some expert coaching (from Mom) could be really good :)  

It was the coldest day of Spring and we were all popsicles before the meet was through!

Mimi & Maddie trying to stay warm.

Managed to get a few photos of the gorgeous crabapple blossoms before they froze :(

Meet Lean Cuisine, he was the runt of the litter...

and Hungry Man, his brother and you guessed it...the biggest of the litter! They reside at my Dad's apartment and keep him entertained. I was over to give him a haircut and drop off dinner :)

My view as I walked away and they spied a bird :)

Mimi ran in to get me for this shot, she said "Look Mom, they are kissing!" I think it was more of a standoff...what do you think?

And my personal favorite (NOT) the inside of matthew's lip. He made sure to show me this several times a day, wether I wanted to see it or not! He apparently chewed his lip while still under the effects of the medicines for the wisdom teeth extraction.

Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back to posting scrappy related goodies later this week :)

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!

No More Wisdom?

When you get your wisdom teeth out does it mean you don't have anymore wisdom? I was curious as to why they are called "wisdom teeth" so I googled it and this is what funtrivia.com said: They are generally thought to be called "wisdom teeth" because they appear so late—much later than the other teeth, at an age where people are supposedly wiser than as a child, when the other teeth erupt.

Well...whatever they are called I know Matthew wishes they were still in his mouth! Holy cow, what a day! We spent 3 1/2 hours at the dentist. Most of the time he wasn't aware of what was going on, but I was and I knew it was really going to hurt later. He was entertaining in a macabre sort of way, on the way home. His rendition of "I Ain't Got No... Satisfaction" was a little disconcerting with bloody drool running down his chin. Blech!

This is probably the only photo I'll have of the dreaded day, only because he was so high on whatever it is they give them to know I was taking a picture. I'm pretty sure if he finds this I'm dead meat ;P

A Reindeer in a Sea of Santas!

I know it's not anywhere near Christmas but I don't scrap chronologically and these photos cracked me up! They were taken at my daughter's Christmas band concert. Her instructor told them they could bring Santa hats and wear them for the last couple of songs. Mimi and I were shopping a couple of weeks before the concert in Jo Ann's and she spotted these antlers. She never asks for frivolous things so I didn't have a problem saying "yes". I didn't know why they were so appealing until she pulled them out on stage :)

You can't see all the other Santa hats in these photos but there were several. The scrunched up face was in response to her teacher's expression. She said he gave her a knowing smirk. Always the individual, my mini rebel :) I've taught her well!

Can you believe I made this cool flower!? There were no black accents in my stash and I really wanted a large flower. A quick trip to You Tube and a satin flower tutorial later and Voila! It was really easy to make. I'll post a tutorial later this week (my first).

Inked all the edges with chalk ink.

Ahhh...3 days off and boy do I need them. Totally awful day at work yesterday. The sun is shining and birds are chirping (I'll have to ignore the boys in my back yard shooting off firecrackers) and a little gardening is good for the soul. Maybe a lot of gardening will bring me some peace. This is the season for scrapping on rainy days :) I need to think about gearing up for my annual plant sale!