Saturday's Birthday Photoshoot -

Cousins - Taryn and Linsea


Linsea Hamming it up for the camera.




Taryn- Sweetest niece ever!


This past Saturday ( June 27 ) I took my daughter Linsea and my niece Taryn out to Red Robin for lunch. We were having some girl time and celebrating their birthdays...Linsea's is June 28 and Taryn's is July 18. Taryn will be heading back to California to live with her mom ( my sister) some time in July - so I really wanted to make sure that we got to do something together before she left. We had really yummy Cheeseburgers ( Taryn and I ) - Linsea had a schroom burger ( ick..picture me shuddering). After lunch we headed out to Island Lk. Pk.- Where I took these pictures. As a whole- I'm happy with the way they turned out..though there are a few that I'd like to redo, mostly because of hand placement. I'm hoping that we can get together with her next week before she heads out to VA. on July 9TH. She's going to visit my other sister, Sarah. Besides, she has to come over again- she forgot part of her birthday present. Haha :) so I'll be holding that as ransom- just until she comes over again!

Anyhow, thanks for stopping by for a visit. I'm sorry there wasn't anything scrappy to see. I do have a project in the works, I'm hoping to post it tomorrow. Have a beautiful week! :)

Yesterday Was A 2 Layout Day

I Finished working on these layouts last night..but I wanted to retake the pictures because I wasn't happy with how they looked lying flat on the kitchen table. In order to help me with my craft O.C.D. I took myself to Micheal's and purchase a easel ( you know, the kind you find in the frame section ). Now, I am much happier with the way the pictures look. My next step is to buy an external flash for my camera. That's going to be a while, my sister told me not to even bother if I wasn't willing to plunk down some cash for a good one...so it's on my list. :) I do want to give her kudos though- she really helped me get closer to the way I want my photos to look. Thanks a bunch Sarah! YOU ROCK!!

Moving on... for both layouts I used paper from the same paper pack. I am thrilled with how versatile it is. The paper comes from The Paper Loft ( it's called Slug Bug ) and I purchased it at my LSS. The carstock is from SU! The flowers are Prima, I used Distressed Denim stickles on the white flower. There are also brown dew drops on the layout of my son.ha

As always, thanks for stopping by. I hope your week is full of crafty- goodness!

A Night Of Unity-

Unity KOTM June
Unity KOTM- June
Unity KOTM - June
Unity KOTM- June
Unity - Everyday Adorable stamp set


I've had Unity Stamps since May- but this is the first time that I've actually made cards with them ( Actually, I did make a birthday card last month). I have to say that I really like the ice cream cone stamp and the sentiments. Also, the clothes line stamp rocks too! I think the kit of the month is the way to go- you definitely get more bang for your buck ( buying the monthly kit)! It's a good deal. :)

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for me...I'm taking my daughter and niece out to lunch for their birthdays ( they're 2 weeks apart). Taryn is going back to live with her mom in California sometime in July so I don't know when (or if ) I'll see her again before she leaves. After lunch we'll be heading out some where scenic and I'll take their pictures ( some separate and some together)...and maybe, just maybe there will be some crafting done ( one can hope). Thanks for stopping by. I hope your weekend is full of fun and scrappy goodness.

Shutter Bug

BACK SIDE OF ALBUM

Yesterday Brown brought me presents! I love it when the UPS guy brings me things. :) Yesterday it was my order from Zutter. With my order they sent me FREE ( I like FREE) Clipboard Wood. With the Clipboard they encouraged me to create something and send it to the Zutter Zisters site. At the end of the month, Zutter will pick FIVE recipients for a special Zutter Gift. How cool is that?? Here's my project. I stayed up late last night finishing it. I had so much fun! My project is an accordion album. I Zuttered the pages on both sides ( with the exception of the front and back covers).

Front Side of Album

Part of the back side of Album
Close up

The stamps used in this project are from Unity Stamp CO. I love their stamps! The paper is from My Minds Eye, the Clipboard Wood ( aka my pages ) and the O wires come from Zutter.

Teacher Thank You's & The Last Day Of School

It's official. School is out and summer vacation has begun. If today is any example of what the rest of summer is going to be like...I'm going to be miserable. Duncan is being a little toadlet..calling his younger sister a looser and butt hole ( nice huh?). He wouldn't apologize to her so now he's grounded for a week (possibly more if he continues to act this badly..his father will deal with him in the morning..or soon now..if he wakes him up). I know I raised him better than this. School hasn't been out even a day and he's already grounded...I think this summer is going to be long and miserable.

Anyhow, for the last day of school I made chocolate and vanilla covered pretzels and packaged them up neatly. Everything is from SU except the ribbon--which I bought at Michaels. I made 16 of these little treat bags..but only needed 9. I thought Linsea had 6 teachers. She does, but, I forgot that she has 2 of them twice which means I only needed to make 4 for her. :) Everyone seemed to like them ( which is gratifying). It was an inexpensive way to show our gratitude to the teachers for a really great year.

Thanks for stopping by and for listening to me ramble on about how miserable this summer is going to be. I really hope it gets better.
I hope you have a fantastic summer with your loved ones..and lots of fun crafty time!

3 More Down..And Now I'm Finished!

These are the final 3 of the wedding album for my cousins. It came together really quickly ( thankfully). I am relieved to have it finished and ready to mail out. They live in Florida but were married in Tennessee ( the picture of the log house is where their family & my sister stayed). It feels good to have it finished. It feels good to have the tangible evidence that it's finished...and it feels great that I feel good about the entire experience.

Thanks for stopping in. I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend and are refreshed and ready for the upcoming week. Be sure to sneak in some crafty goodness this next week!

A Happy Day Of Sunshine & A Sleep Over

It was a good day yesterday, with sunny skies and happy children. There's really nothing better in this world than listening to a child's laughter. Sunny days spent running and jumping through a sprinkler seem to inspire the laughter. Yesterday Emma and Salma spent time in the sprinkler.. and you could hear the giggles all the way down the street.
During this time of financial unease..it's nice to take time and listen to the sound of laughter...and take a moment to remember what is truly important.


The laughter continued through out the night. Salma stayed the night and we watched National Treasure and ate popcorn. The movie didn't end until 12 AM ..and the giggles lasted much longer....they went to bed right after the movie..but continued to giggle and play their GBA'S until well into the night.

10 Down 3 To Go

This is the continuing saga of the WEDDING ALBUM. I had a pretty productive evening last night...doing some online scrapping with my friend Julie. Thanks Julie for the online motivation. Because of all my work last night, it looks like I will be sending this album to my sister on Monday. GO ME!! :) Way before the deadline. :)

As with the rest of the album I tried to keep the focal point on the pictures and not any embellishments that I've added.

Four Down Twelve To Go

My project for the next few weeks is to redo my cousins Ryan and Hope's wedding album. I wasn't really happy with my first endeavor. I didn't have the pictures when I was making the first one ( and I really like to match pictures to paper)..and it was really difficult for me to imagine what it was going to look like. So far, only four pages into this one...I like it better. Don't misunderstand me, as far as quality goes, and the amount of time and effort put into the other one..it is a nice album, just not what I wanted it to be.

I didn't do too much as far as embellishments go. I am trying to highlight the pictures, so I don't want to over embellish. I must say though..I am not really happy with the quantity and types of wedding paper I'm finding. You'd think that the DCWV people would do a wedding stack, or something. Wouldn't that be nice..then you wouldn't have to search all over the place to find something, anything for weddings. Michael's is doing better..but it's still not enough. Most of the paper they had was gone..so I am hoping that they'll be getting some more in really soon.

I just wanted to say before I forget, the pictures in these LO'S were taken by my sister Sarah ( you can find her here: www.365daysofphotography2009.blogspot.com and here: www.ripleydigitalphotography.blogspot.com )

You should stop by and check out some of her work. She does a fantastic job..but I might be biased as she is my sister. :)

So, this is all there is so far. I am hoping to get some more pages done tonight...but first I have to cook dinner for the fam. Duties come before funnies :). Thanks for stopping by. Have a craft filled evening! :)

A Slumber Party, Mini "Popcorn" cupcakes, Choco-chip Waffles &A Thank You Card

Last weekend was my Daughter Linsea's slumber party ( for her 14Th b-day). We allowed her to invite 4 friends to come and stay the night. I made cute little "popcorn" cupcakes ( Recipe found in a book called "Hello Cupcake!"), we had pizza and soda and all sorts of snacks that are bad for you ( Duh, 14 year old girls). It went better than I expected ( 5 hormonal girls in my little 3 bdrm. house is enough to frighten anyone). They all seemed like very pleasant girls and they were kind to Linsea's younger siblings ( a definite must). In the top photo we have Linsea and her friend Kristie. In the next photo is Linsea and her friend Kayla.

For breakfast Sunday morning I made Chocolate chip waffles ( I offered whipped topping or syrup to go with them). They looked really yummy and seemed to be a big hit. My youngest wants slumber parties every weekend now..just so I can make these yummy breakfast treats.

This picture ( with the rainbow platter) is what the cupcakes looked like. They certainly didn't last very long. For those that didn't like marshmallows I had some plain vanilla frosted cupcakes as well.

Lastly, here is a picture of the Thank You cards I made for the girls ( which Linsea has yet to fill out and give them). Stamped image is from Hanna Stamps ( http://www.hannastamps.com/), it's colored with copic markers, ribbon is from SU!, various buttons were used , paper from My Mind's Eye.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope that your week has been full of all that is crafty and fun. :)