Umm... Another Christmas Card...

No, it's not Flashback Friday, but in my desperate attempt to use up my older Christmas DSP, I have another card to share this week!  I had to get a little creative with this one.  I used the sketch #5 from Merry Monday and knew I wanted to use the snowman circle from Tags Til Christmas, but there wasn't any blue in the DSP... So I grabbed the color coach and found that marina mist was suggested with real red and old olive, which were colors in the DSP! BINGO! Of  course, the snowy image just begged for some dazzling details as well!  Who am I to argue with a snowman stamp?!

I colored the image with markers and also did a little 'splitting' of the sentiment using the marina mist marker.  I love being able to color only what I want to stamp.  Makes fitting things into a punched shape much easier!!

I think there's just enough DSP left to make that mini album and possibly a few scrappy cards or a page or two.  As happy as that makes me, I am even more amazed that I have 10 Christmas cards made already!  I just won't know what to do when December arrives...  Maybe I'll get some more scrapbook pages finished!  Hope you are finding time to enjoy your weekend! Happy crafting!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-very vanilla, real red, Merry Moments DSP (ret), Ink-marina mist, real red, pumpkin pie, basic black (markers), Stamp Set-Tags Til Christmas, Star Studded Season, Punches-large oval, scallop oval, 1 3/4 circle, 2 3/8 scallop circle, Accessories- dazzling details

Flashback Friday-Merry Monday #4

I am on quite the roll with the Christmas cards!! I hate to admit, but I'm actually enjoying this!  I thought being limited to two packs of DSP would drive me batty, but it has actually made things easier.  Of course, there is still the temptation to dig into one of the newer packs...must be strong...

Today's card is based on sketch #4 from Merry Monday.  Sorry for the shadowy pictures... I waited a bit to long to try and take pictures outside...

and I even decorated the inside!!

My next project is making a 6x6 Christmas album.  I'm thinking that will just about finish off my Merry Moments paper (sniff...).  Only a few more days before my July preorder for the Holiday goodies!!!!

Well, that's it for me today! Another busy weekend with little time for craftiness... good thing there's still over a month of summer vacation left!  Have a wonderful weekend and happy crafting!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-real red, very vanilla, Merry Moments DSP (ret), Ink-real red, chocolate chip, soft suede, Stamp Sets- Snow Swirled, Tags Til Christmas, Accessories- petals a plenty folder, ornament punch, photo corner punch (ret), decorative label punch

I will not procrastinate... I will not procrastinate...

At our last SU team meeting, Tiffany gave us two different types of challenge.  One was to read the article in the latest Stampin' Success about changing habits that hold you back, then pick something to change.  While I'm sure there are several things I could change to make myself more organized and a better prepared demonstrator, I picked the most obvious one for me...procrastinating.  How nice would it be for me to have everything ready for club and classes ahead of time, instead of finishing and packing at the last minute...  So challenge number one was completed.  On to the second challenge- the color combo sketch challenge and since I'm not procrastinating, I have my card finished and there's still over two weeks until our meeting! Woo! Hoo!

So here is my 'not last minute' card using the colors island indigo, baja breeze, and rich razzleberry.  I have to say these colors really made me think.  I'm still not sure I'm thrilled with the finished product, but I don't hate it either...

Just a little fussy cutting on the balloons, sponging for the sky, and a little twine to dress it up.  I stamped the party arrow in versamark to add a little interest to the baja breeze panel.  Well, wish me luck with my newest endeavor!  Hope you have a great day and happy crafting!

Card Recipe:  Cardstock-island indigo, baja breeze, rich razzleberry, whisper white, Ink-island indigo, rich razzleberry, baja breeze, versamark, Stamp Set-Party This Way, Accessories- island indigo twine, bitty banner framelit

Birthday Smooches

My stampin' club met this past weekend and we had a great time!  I was so excited to show off some of the new DSP and stamps from the 2012/13 catalog!

This is one of the three projects we created.  I absolutely love the Memorable Moments stamp set! Such an easy way to make a birthday or anniversary card more personal!

The red buttons on my card are retired.  This way the ladies in the club could have their choice of the flower shaped buttons from the brights button collection. Plus it was good excuse to use some of my older SU buttons!!

Card Recipe: Cardstock- tempting turquoise, daffodil delight, whisper white, Summer Smooches DSP, Ink- stazon black, tangerine tango, Stamp Set-Memorable Moments, Accessories-labels framelits, big shot, scallop trim border punch, brights buttons, white bakers twine

I also wanted to share a personal photo today.  Every year, my girls and I attend several of our local library's summer programs.  Even though my oldest is now in middle school, she still loves seeing the performances.  Last week, the program was 'Zeus, Poseidon, and Percy'.  It was an introduction to mythology and the Percy Jackson series.  DD #1 was so excited when the presenter picked her to dress up as a Greek warrior.  After she put on the gear, he teased her that she must be an Amazonian warrior.  That's my girl!

Got a busy day today...both girls to the dentist in the morning, and a double header at the ball field this evening!  Hoping for some cooler temperatures!!!  Have a great day and happy crafting!

Scrapbook Monday- At the beach

Welcome!  So glad you stopped by to visit me today!  Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  We had a great weekend and got to do something new!  A family from our church recently added organic cheese making to their grass fed, organic farm business.  They had an open house this past weekend and we were able to see a bit of the cheese making process and tour the farm.  We had already tasted their cheese before (super yummy and so much more flavor than any of the store brands!!) but this was the first time we had been to their farm. Super cool!  I'm hoping to arrange some field trips for my preschool children next spring!

But enough of my rambling about the weekend! On to the scrapbooking!  Today I have two pages to share, both from our trip to Panama City Beach. DH and I were so excited for the girls to see the ocean, and couldn't wait to see their faces when they viewed it for the first time.  As luck would have it, our first view of the gulf was a bay area while we were driving to the hotel.  My oldest DD in a less than impressed voice said "I thought it would look bigger.  You can see the land all around it..."  Youngest DD chimed in with "Yeah! I didn't think it would look like this."  Oh, joy...

I really wish I would have video taped the girls when they arrived at the beach!  We took a small board walk that led us to the beach.  Because it was low tide, the girls could only see the upper part of the beach as we walked.  Then they climbed the hill to the actual beach.  They both froze, breath caught in throats, and then squealed as they ran to the water!  Now this was a much better response to one of God's most beautiful creations!  I did manage to take a quick picture before they reached the water.

When I saw this picture, I knew I wanted it to be the focal point of the page, and almost immediately the line from the song"I hope you dance" popped into my head.  While I wanted the lyrics to be a part of this page, I did not want to take away from the beauty of the picture, so I adjusted the opacity of the text by about 50% -still dark enough to be read, but not center stage.  BTW- if you are ever wanting to check the accuracy of the song lyrics, A-Z Lyrics Universe is an awesome site!

I had a lot of  pictures from the beach that were more "moment in time" than actual "story" pictures.  So I didn't do any journaling on this page.  I'm going to journal about the beach experience on the back of the first page, so they will remember comments and various things they did.  But these pictures really tell a story all on their own.  DH took the picture of the girls and I at the edge of the water.  I love the staircase effect, which by the way is sort of a trick angle since DD #1 is as tall as I am!  I added a small mat to the largest picture to help draw the eye there first.  Other than that, this was a super easy page too!  Just drag and drop!

Well, that's it for today!  I was already feeling overwhelmed at the number of pictures I had from our trip, then I saw my sister's pictures...  So now I have even more to add to the album!  This may be a 2 volume vacation book... And we're not even going to think about the printing costs at this moment!

Have a wonderful week and happy crafting!

To be or not to be (manly)...that is the question...

I LOVE the new DSP Comfort Cafe!  The beautiful floral patterns resemble fabric and caught my eye immediately.  Then I checked out the opposite patterns... muy macho!!  How awesome is that?!  So now I can create girly OR manly using the same paper!!  I knew that this was a paper I needed to share with my stampin' club.  So I used an old Page Maps sketch and literally put this card together in minutes!

This also uses one of the new in colors, summer starfruit.  Not a gorgeous color on it's own, but it looks great paired up with so many combinations!  Yes, I pulled out Lovely as a Tree again! So great for manly or winter cards! My image was stamped in soft suede, then colored with the pastels.

Card Recipe: Cardstock-summer starfruit, very vanilla, soft suede, Comfort Cafe DSP, Ink-soft suede, pastels, Stamp Set-Lovely as a Tree

I almost forgot to give an update on the Father's Day card!  So I have this huge smile on my face as DH opens his card and he says "Thanks! This is really cool! I like the tools on there."  Me-Don't you notice anything special on there?  (Blank look from DH-you know the one that says 'I know I should have the answer for this, but I have no clue...') "Look at the sentiment.", still smug smile on my face... "OH! You used that stuff I wanted to throw away!  It looks really cool on there, like wood shavings."  Alleluia!!  We have made a break through!!!  In the future, he may actually believe that I'm not crazy or a hoarder when I save something from the trash or recycling...maybe...  Hey a girl can dream!  Have a great day and happy crafting!

Flashback Friday- It's almost gone!

I am so happy to say that I have almost used up 2 packages of Christmas DSP! Woo! Hoo! As an added bonus, I actually have a few Christmas cards too!! Yea, Me! (sorry...too much Disney channel...)  My oldest DD looked at my cards yesterday and asked "Christmas? Already?"  She is quite the procrastinator as well, and was in complete awe when I told her that some people make them year round! That's my girl!!

So I have finished sketch #3 from Merry Monday.  I took a little liberty with the sketch and turned the base but kept the elements the same to fit my stamp. I also pulled out one of my favorite Christmas stamp sets.  Sadly, it hasn't seen ink in over a year since I didn't use it for last year's Christmas cards.

It was a little odd making Christmas cards inside and then going out into the sweltering heat to watch the girls play ball!  Sort of like being in a time warp...wait...maybe that's just my life!

Hope you have a marvelous weekend and happy crafting!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-real red, very vanilla, Merry Moments DSP, Ink-crumb cake, soft suede (distressing), Stamp Set-Miracle of Christmas, Accessories-Petals a Plenty folder, pear pizzazz seam binding (ret), linen thread, vanilla shimmer smooch

And they lived happily ever after...

In an effort to use up my Christmas DSP, I decided to put together the card holder kit I bought before they retired.  Unfortunately, I was not very good at following the pattern (a little confusing to me anyway) and there are quite large white seams showing at the corners.  So now I am trying to brainstorm a way to cover the edges and still have the box look like someone older than 2 put it together...  After finishing the box, I went through my basket of cards to sort them into their new home and came across a card I had made quite a while back.  Well...the card was quickly covered with other cards and forgotten.  So today I am finally posting the card.

If you have been a follower of my blog for a while, you will remember this card...

This card was featured here.  My wonderfully creative blogging buddy Lisa M, suggested that it looked like they were off on an adventure.  That sparked my second card...

and the story that went with it.  Well it has been a little over 5 months and Chip and Rocky have an update...

Awww... isn't he cute?!  Who knew the gestation period for lawn ornaments was 5 months?!  So they had a baby and are now living in Little Rock! (yes... weak I know... but still corny enough to fit this series!!)  They do have a little problem though.  They can't decide on a name for their little guy and want you to help!  So...  in the spirit of this crazy little mini series, Chip, Rocky, and I are holding a "Name Baby Gnomie" Contest.  Leave your suggestion in the comment section and I will randomly pick a winner.  Who knows...there may even be a gift for the winner!  If you have more than one suggestion, please leave a comment for each name.

Have a wonderful rest of the week! The weekend is almost here!!

Card Recipe:  Cardstock-pool party, crumb cake, very vanilla, Everyday Enchantment (ret.), Ink-black stazon, various markers, Stamp Sets-Gnome Sweet Gnome (ret), Word Play, Accessories-crystal effects, ribbon (ret.)

Stamp Club

Enjoy ordering Stampin' Up products?  Want hostess benefits without having to hold a workshop?  A stamp club might be just what you're looking for!  I am starting a new stamp club in August and still have 2 spots open.

This stamp club will have 6 members and each member will have a turn at being the hostess.  There are a few requirements to join, but they are so simple.  Each member of the club commits to be in the group for 1 year.  We meet every other month starting in August.  When we have a club meeting, I will provide the supplies for 3 projects and a little gift for each club member. If you are not in my area, you can be a virtual member and I will send the projects to you. Each member is also required to order a minimum of $25 (before tax and shipping) in product.  This way we will always have a $150 'party' and each hostess will get the minimum benefits.  Each member also receives a free copy of the Idea Book and Catalog.

August is also the first month to order from the NEW Holiday Catalog which you will receive for free as a club member!

If you would like more information or are interested in joining, please leave me a comment and I'll get back to you as soon as possible!

Scrapbook Monday-The Road Trip

Hello everyone!  Hope you had a great weekend!  After a rather busy week, our weekend was nice. A small family get together for Father's Day was our only commitment, if you can call it that!

I have yet another MDS page from our recent vacation-more road trip pictures!  While most people would rather do a trip to a dentist than do a 12+ hr drive with two kids, we are fortunate to have children who do really well on road trips.  They have both been on several 6 hour trips to Chicago, numerous 2-3 hour visits to Kentucky, and the annual trip to Gatlinburg, TN.  Now they can officially say they have been in 7 different states.  (I would love to double that number before they graduate!)  They also bring plenty of things to keep them occupied and watch DVDs  when it gets too dark to check out the scenery.  

You already know about the bridge crossing into Kentucky... They had already seen a bit of the mountains of Tennessee, but were amazed at the runaway truck pits on the sides of the mountain roads.  When we stopped for gas in Alabama, there was a water tower across the street that was decorated like a peach (and I always thought that was Georgia).  The girls thought that was the coolest thing.  We also stopped at a rest area/visitors center in Alabama for our lunch break.  We all enjoyed the chance to stretch our legs and it was such a pretty day for a little picnic.  But the most exciting part was crossing into Florida and getting a free cup of fresh orange juice at the visitors center.  We also picked up several maps and tourist attraction pamphlets there.  And there wasn't even a lot of  "Are we there yet?"  A pretty good trip so far!

Next week's page will be the start of our actual 'vacation'-the start of the beach pictures!!  Thanks for visiting and I hope you find some time to be crafty this week! 

Hold on to your seats...another Christmas card!

Hope everyone has some special plans for Father's day! We are having a simple family cook out which promised to be laid back and fun!

I have managed to make yet another Christmas card (two actually since I often make two of the same card and share the other with the Moms.) to use up my stash of Christmas DSP.  I have decided that if I can eliminate one whole package of old DSP by July, I will reward myself with a new package during the preorder period for the Holiday Catalog (demo perks-gotta love them!!).  So now my resolve is strong and I am already turning the wheels for the mini albums I always donate to our daycare's annual auction.  A few 6x6 albums ought to help a lot with that paper pile...  Maybe I'll even eliminate 2 pkgs of paper and buy 2 NEW packages! A girl can dream!!  But enough of my musing; you came her to see paper crafting!

So I proudly present my second Christmas card design, once again using a sketch from Merry Monday.  I followed in sequence and used sketch #2, but a good blogging friend suggested that while I continue to work chronologically, I could also do the current sketch.  Therefore, I would get two different cards completed and use up even more paper.  You are so smart, Sherry!!!  So I am going to try to squeeze in the time to complete a card for their next challenge. Apologies in advance for the wonky angle! Not sure what happened there... The black you see is not actually on the card.  It's shadows.  I really need a photography class for properly capturing cards and layout...

My card was based on this sketch...

I absolutely love this stamp set and was so excited that it is now offered in the 'clear' mount version in the new catalog!  Gotta love more options!  This is pretty basic and doesn't really require a lot of explaining.  I used markers to color the tree so the trunk would be brown and the needles, green.  Super easy, but really looks cool...  I didn't put a sentiment on the front because I couldn't find a place to make it work without throwing off the balance of the card, so the sentiment is going on the inside.  I figure if someone receives a card in December, they will know what the occasion is...

Well, that's it for today!  Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend and found some time to play around with their crafty supplies! Thanks for stopping by!!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-very vanilla, chocolate chip, Merry Moments DSP (ret), Ink-garden green, chocolate chip, Stamp Set-Lovely as a Tree, Accessories-scallop trim border punch, chocolate chip scallop dots ribbon

A Crafty Color and Sketch Challenge

My upline, Tiffany, gives us a new color and sketch challenge each month.  She's even nice enough to supply some cardstock to make it easier for us!  This month our colors were the new gumball green, along with melon mambo, and so saffron.  We could also use a neutral.  She picks sketches from older Stampin' Success issues (magazine for SU demos only-another great perk!).

Here is my card...

I used the retired stamp set, Look Who's Turning and chose to add whisper white as my neutral color.  I finished this card on Friday afternoon and was so proud for getting it done on time.  Then I left this morning for our meeting and forgot the silly thing on the kitchen table! Grrr...

Card Recipe:  Card stock-gumball green, so saffron, melon mambo, whisper white, Stamp Set-Look Who's Turning, Ink-gumball green, melon mambo, so saffron, Accessories-rhinestones, white bakers twine, perfect polka dots folder, felt flower (ret), owl punch (for circles), dazzling details

I Got Mail!!!

Is there anyone in the world who does not love going to the mailbox or post office and finding a personal letter or card?!  In a time where we are all so busy and looking for the most efficient way to do things, we often use modern conveniences to handle our correspondence.  Now don't get me wrong, if it wasn't for email, facebook, and blogging, I would not keep in touch nearly as well as I do and many friendships probably would have been lost over the years.  But there is something so special about getting that envelope addressed to you and opening it to find a handmade card or handwritten note just to say hello.

I was blessed yesterday to find both in my mailbox!  My wonderful blogging friend, Heather, sent me the most fabulous envelope and card, AND it had a wonderfully written note inside!  Made my day!

As if the card wasn't enough (chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven? MMMMMM...), she even decorated the flap of the envelope with chocolate chips!!! Awesome!!

The only down side to this is that I am really craving homemade chocolate chip cookies now...  Guess I need to get baking!

If you have a minute, be sure to stop by Heather's blog and check out all of her fabulous creations.  She also takes the most amazing pictures and has absolutely gorgeous flowers growing at her home!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

Flashback Friday- Christmas already?

Don't panic!  I am not going to start counting the days til Christmas. I don't want to know that information just yet either! So why in the world would a perfectly happy procrastinator like myself make Christmas cards in June?  Well... the answer has absolutely nothing to do with me trying to better prepare myself for the upcoming holidays, nor does it have anything to do with me being in a cheery Christmas mood.  I am making Christmas cards for purely selfish reasons.  I WANT NEW PAPER!!!!!!!

I saw a sneak peek of Stampin' Up's Holiday Catalog that will be available in August and almost hyperventilated and passed out over this baby!! OH! MY! WORD! I have always been a sucker for Christmas stamps but these were amazing and I won't even go into the details of my racing pulse from the variety of DSP...

Just a reminder:  I started doing Flashback Fridays to try to reduce my mountainous collection of supplies and had decided that I was not going to buy more Christmas paper until I used up what I had. Do you see my dilemma?  Here I am viewing all of this beautiful Christmas paper goodness, and my stash (and my resolve) is taunting me with my prior resolution.  So I did the only sensible thing I could do.  I started making Christmas cards... in June...

As crazy as this seemed to me, apparently there are people out there who are organized and actually make their Christmas cards year round. Whoda thought???   They even manage to get their cards completed before the day before Christmas (amazing and shocking, I know!).  One of these organized types is the crew at Merry Monday.  They have a new sketch challenge every week for Christmas/Holiday cards.  Now, even though I am a procrastinator, I am also a saver/hoarder, so I have been saving all of their sketches for the time when I finally deemed it necessary to make my cards (you know, around December 20th...) and being a little bit anal, I had to start with sketch number one for my card. All of those organized people (like Sherry) are on week 24 already!

So here is sketch #1 from Merry Monday

and here's my card, complete with retired DSP!

I pulled out my pastels to color the image.  I think it works better for the aged look than the markers.  I also did some ink distressing with soft suede.  I've also decided that I'm going to have to start using way more paper on my cards!  This design really didn't make a dent in my supply.  There's always gift bows... Is it too early to start making those?

So there you have it! My first Christmas card of the year! I'm hoping no one will revoke my membership in the Proud to be a Procrastinator Club.  After all, I did wait over a year to use this paper!!  Have a great weekend and happy crafting!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-very vanilla, real red, Merry Moments DSP (ret), Ink-crumb cake, chocolate chip, soft suede (distressing), pastels, Stamp Set- Bells and Boughs, Accessories-labels framelits, snow burst embossing folder,

Coffee Mug- A quick post

I do not have a card for you today, but wanted to share the picture of my new Goofy mug.  I'm sure this would get me another eye roll from DH, but he's at work and I'm here, so he's just going to miss the opportunity on this one!!

front and back of mug...

next to a normal size mug to show a size reference!

I don't normally buy mugs since I tend to get them as teacher gifts, but I couldn't pass this one up!

Hope you have a marvelous day!  I'm off to Wal-Mart... Wish me luck!!

Happy Father's Day and 'I told ya...'

A rather odd post title, right?!  There is a little bit of a story (and proving a point) in the card I am sharing today.

I know I am not alone in my hoarding using everyday items in craft projects, so this is the perfect place to share this story...especially when I know you will completely agree with me!  

The story begins in Florida... While we were at Epcot, I bought the cutest BIG coffee cup.  (It has Goofy dressed in traditional German clothing on one side and 'Guten Morgen, Kaffee!' (Good morning, coffee!) on the back.  With both my love of coffee and my heritage, I couldn't pass it up.)  Since it was fragile, the gentleman in the store wrapped it in the coolest packing paper.  It resembled corrugated cardboard, but was thinner like craft paper and had this funky cut pattern as well.  Fast forward a few days to us returning home.  When we were unpacking everything from our trip, I carefully unwrapped my mug, folded the paper, and put it on the table by my crafting things.  This is where the story really kicks in...

DH-Hand that to me and I'll put it in the recycling.
Me- No, I'm going to keep it.
DH- Why? (insert completely confused expression here)
Me- It's kinda cool.  I'm going to hang onto it and use it for crafting.
DH-Oh... OK... (insert knowing eye roll here)
Me-What? (with complete understanding that he doesn't approve and the knowledge that it really doesn't matter if he understands)
DH- I was just thinking that you still have the other brown paper stuff (craft paper) you saved from the last shipping package and all of that gift wrap from my Mom (imagine hand made paper with embroidery...) and you haven't used any of that yet.
Me- Well, eventually I will come up with a great idea for them and then I will use them and it will be fabulous.
DH- Silent but with that all knowing look on his face...
Me- Silent but with that 'I'll show you...' look

Does this sound at all familiar to any of you?  Please tell me I'm not alone...  Anyway, as I was crafting last night I decided I was going to make my Father's day card for my Dad.  I don't usually make one for my husband because the girls love making their own and I think that means more to him anyway.  But, as I was going through supplies and deciding on a card for my Dad, I saw the crinkly packing paper.  It was calling my name and I swear I heard it say "Let's show him!  Make him a card using me and he'll HAVE to admit you were right in saving me from recycling!"  After that, it was a piece of cake to put a card together, and I loved the manly edge the paper added to the card.  I ended up making one for my Dad just like his.

 

close up showing detail of the packing paper (sorry it's a little blurry...)

So now I am patiently waiting for Father's Day to see if my DH notices the special paper on his card.  I'm hoping I won't have to point it out to him and ruin the moment that he realizes that his wife is brilliant and frugal and most of all...right!  And I won't think this is mean at all, because he was smart enough to marry me! (insert wink and smile here)

Have a great rest of the week and happy crafting!!

Card recipe: Cardstock-soft suede, crumb cake, Ink-soft suede, pastels, Stamp Set-Tool Shed background stamp, Accessories- artichoke denim ribbon (ret), Fabulous Packing Paper

Scrapbook Monday- Good thing there's digital...

I think I am slowly getting things back in order from our vacation.  The laundry is almost  caught up (if that is really possible), there is once again food to eat in the house, and the lawn is mowed.  Of course there's still some weeding that needs to be done and the house never stays clean for long, but there's always tomorrow!!

I spent several hours Sunday evening working with MDS and my vacation pictures.  Since I am making pages for three separate books, I was not about to do this the old fashioned way...

Today's page features the very first pictures I took.  Now, I knew I would have hundreds of pictures by the time the week was over and that the girls would be pointing out things that they wanted photographed.  I did not however, plan to take many pictures before we even left Indiana!  We left around 7:30 in the morning and we were almost out of the next county when the girls noticed the cooling towers from the power plant.  They both thought it was a nuclear plant, so we explained that this plant burned coal and the huge towers were cooling towers and the white puffy stuff was not smoke, but steam.  They needed a picture of the tower.  Less than 15 minutes later, I was getting the request for the cool bridge we were getting ready to cross. Hmm... not even an hour on the road and I had already taken several pictures! Thank goodness for my digital camera and a rather large memory card!

I am keeping the pages rather simple at this point.  While I like the pictures I took, they are merely reminders of  our surroundings on the road trip. Plus, there's not a lot to be done when they are rather random pictures.  I may still go back in and add some embellishments before I get them printed.  I am still on the hunt for some wonderful digital Disney things and will attack those pictures at a later date.

On a side note... I have to share my recent mishap.  We spent an entire week in Sunny Florida. Lots of time outside in the sun and thanks to our precautions, we didn't get burned. Actually, you couldn't really tell that we got much sun at all. I repeat...A WHOLE WEEK IN FLORIDA...with a red head and an older DD who is fair complected.  Get where this story is going yet?  Well, Sunday, my youngest DD was walking with the Girl Scouts in a local parade.  The rest of us sat in our camp chairs to watch her...in the sun...  She had sunscreen, we did not. Guess who is now a lovely shade of red...  Yep! I will have the most lovely farmer's tan in a few days. So now we are doing the whole aloe gel routine and from now on I am carrying a tube of sunscreen with me in my purse. Doh!!

Well, I hope everyone has a great week and hopefully I will be back later this week with another post! Happy crafting!!

Vacation and the last countdown card!

Well, if the picture didn't already give it away, my countdown cards were not in proper time sequence!!  We actually left last Thursday morning and got back at 2:30 am this Thursday. It was a wonderful week full of entertainment, wonderful food, lots of family time, and very little down time! I hate to admit that I'm glad to be back home (even if it means tackling the mountain of laundry...), and after a very lazy day yesterday, we are all back into our regular summer routine.  Shadow missed us terribly and has not left my side since we've returned. Although, I have my suspicions that he is missing my Mom and the special treats she was giving him while we were gone!

While I would love to share lots of my vacation photos, having an incredibly slow  internet connection is preventing me from doing so at this time.  Maybe this will encourage me to scrap those pictures faster so you can see them on the finished pages!!  I am going to share our final countdown card that we received.

The inside said "You + Me   Tomorrow".  I think my sister had a great time as well.  Since her boys have all grown, she spent a lot of time laughing at me dealing with my girls arguments and grumpiness.

I am slowly making my way around to all of my blogging friends to catch up on all of the wonderful creations I've missed while away!  I am also trying to squeeze in some crafting time and should have a few new projects for my blog next week!  Until then, I hope everyone has a 'magical' weekend and happy crafting!!

Flash Back Friday- Rainbow Sherbet

I found a package of DSP from long ago that had barely been touched.  I have to admit, this card was a bit of a challenge as the colors did not immediately appeal to me.  They must have at some point, but I'm not sure when that was...

One of my best friends and co-worker will be celebrating her 30th birthday soon and her favorite color is green, so I started thinking 'Can I make this work?'.  Here is what I came up with...

When I first saw the original brights from SU, I loved them.  They were perfect for scrapbooking the pages of my little girls.  Now, I am so glad they have revamped them to be more trendy.  I like the way this card turned out, but I'm also glad I don't have to use green galore on a regular basis! Talk about bright!!

I really did a lot of digging in the stash for this card.  I found a sheet of green galore and gable green in my 'leftovers' drawer, and some digging through my embellishments turned up an old container of the original brights buttons! Perfect!!  To balance out all of the retired items, I did sneak a brand new stamp set onto this card! Memorable Moments is such a fantastic set! It's perfect for those milestone birthdays and anniversaries and I love that it coordinates with the label framelits!  This set will be seeing a lot of ink!!

Hope you have a marvelous weekend and happy crafting!!

Card Recipe-Paper-whisper white, Stamp Set-Memorable Moments, Punch-eyelet border, Extras-white bakers twine, labels framelits, Stash Supplies-green galore and gable green paper, Rainbow Sherbet DSP, buttons

Scrapbook Monday- Welcome, baby

Well, apparently my resolve to use up my older items is taking over! Today's page uses quite a bit from my hoarded supplies! I keep telling myself this is good and I'm hoping by the end of the summer, I will be able to see the slightest change in the amount of goodies collecting dust and Shadow hair!

I love how this page turned out.  It literally came together in minutes and the pics are so sweet! I even squeezed a new product on this page! The journaling is done using a new in color, primrose petals! Such a pretty pink!

I work with a lot of wonderful ladies,  but one has become a very dear friend to me.  Even though 10 years separate us, we have such a great relationship both personally and professionally.  Her daughter has become like a little cousin to my girls and they love spending time with her.  When my friend told me she was pregnant, last year, I was so happy for her!  Their family had been going through some difficult times and this was such a special, happy gift.  We anxiously awaited the arrival of the new baby. Although I have a few months off during the summer, she works year round.  I kept telling her we would be on vacation together this year.  I was right. About a week and a half after school let out, she had her baby.  Her DH was working nights and she was at home with her daughter, so her daughter ended up going to the hospital in her PJs in the wee hours of the morning.  I got the call later, that the newest addition to the family had arrived, and in less than 2 hours, we were at the hospital with a change of clothes for Big Sis (in their rush to get to the hospital, she did not grab extra clothes) and a present for the new baby.  My girls were thrilled to meet the new baby and were so honored to be able to hold her.  After a short visit with Mom and Dad, we took Big Sis out to eat lunch and went to a local park to play.  It really was such a wonderful day!

Layout Recipe: Stamp Set- Just Journaling (ret), Ink-black Stazon, NEW-primrose petals marker, Extras-white bakers twine for buttons, Stash-DP, stickers, and buttons

Flash Back Friday- Buttons

Two weeks in a row for posting my stash creations!!! This week, I dug out a container of themed buttons that I have had around for ages.  I think I bought them from QVC when I first started scrapbooking over 10 years ago...

I was looking through the variety and came across the football themed set.  My DH LOVES football and I still needed a birthday card for him, so out came the helmet and 3 football buttons.

DH is a Colts fan (yes...still...even with all of the changes)  In keeping with the flash back theme, I pulled out my brilliant blue cardstock and ink. Both are retired from SU, but I love the 'basic blue' color so much that I had a little extra stuck back.  It also worked well for the team colors.  I also used an old sketch.  I'm not sure where it was from, but I liked it...  Even the birthday sentiment is retired!  The only current items used were the whisper white cardstock and the embossing folder!

Well, that's it for me today! Hope you have a wonderful weekend and happy crafting!

Card Recipe: Paper-whisper white, brilliant blue, Stamp Set- Birthday Wish, Ink-brilliant blue, Extras-square lattice embossing folder, football buttons from stash