Holy Smokes!!

I just can't believe what I accomplished in the past few days. Layouts galore just coming out of my stash of papers and piles of photos!! I'm so excited with myself that I think I'll share a few more. :-)

This first one is using Echo Parks Sweet Summertime. Thought the papers fit so perfectly for a layout of our County Fair this August. I used a sketch from Scrapbook Generation's Sketches For Scrapbooking, Vol. 5. Those sketch books are quickly becoming my "go to" for inspiration. Just love the precise measurements and all around clean look of the finished layout!


This next one is my two darling grandbabies one day while visiting. I just love the way they play and interact with each other and like it says, we hope it stays this way! ;-) I used Sassafras Lass' Cherry Delicious , a hint of bling, and some handmade felt flowers. Love the color combination!


Thats it for tonight. Thank you for visiting.

Godspeed

August THAW wk# 4:

Here are my layouts for this week's challenges.

Challenge #10 sketch:



I also combined this with challenge #12 - using more than one alpha in the title. This photo was taken at our local county fair beginning of this month. Gotta love them fair rides!

My final one for challenge #11 - use a grid - was posted earlier of the luminaria ceremony.

I'll be back tomorrow with some other things I've been working on.

Godspeed

Relay For Life layouts

This past few days I've been reflecting on our event from last weekend and just thinking how many people in my own little world are affected by cancer in some way. Whether its someone we've lost, someone who has survived, or someone who is still in their treatments to make them feel better, there are so many in just my family alone.

This year we dedicated our relay to a little girl, Lois Steele Hogan. We have never met her in person, but her Mom, Catherine, and I are cyber friends, fantasy football league players, and met through a scrapbook message board a few years ago. We decided to bring attention to Lois' type of cancer, leukemia, and passed out information to other relayers and the public.

I'd like to share with you a few of the layouts I have created so far to remember this Relay. Our Relay had a Birthday Party theme, so what's better to have for a birthday than cupcakes! This first one is prepping the pans, mixing the dough, and getting them ready for the oven, with the help of Makayla and her Papa, of course! We made a total of 72 cupcakes and loved every minute of it. :-)


The sketch was by Julie Bonner and the papers are Bella Blvd. Sweet Celebrations, which were perfect for cupcake photos!!

Now this next layout is of the Luminaria Ceremony that was held at dusk. It is to honor those survivors, support their caregivers, and remember those who we have lost to cancer. We created luminary bags and here is just a sampling in this layout.


And there's our Honorary Team Member, Lois, in the upper left hand corner smiling that contagious smile!

I will be back later with more from RFL layouts, but now must get to those annoying little things in life called dinner and dishes!

Godspeed

August THAW wk #3:

Challenge #7 - a sketch


These photos were taken August 10th while at the Clark County Fair. It was a first for Ruby and the expressions on her face for the different rides were just precious!


Challenge #8 - no time with Relay For Life coming up so I had to skip =(

Challenge #9 - use die cut paper in a new and unusual way. I used mine not only for the backdrop matting for my photo, but also for my journal block underneath the photo.


I also did something new and got up the courage to stamp directly on my photo! Much easier than I first thought, as long as you use the proper ink!!

Be back tomorrow with my August THAW projects from this week.

Godspeed

Done early this week!!

Yes, that's right, all my challenges are completed and posted at Willow Traders. =) Trying to keep myself occupied while waiting on some test results and, well, what better way than to scrap!

First up is the sketch challenge for week #2:


And my take is some photos taken at Makayla's birthday party. Ruby has just started to sit up on her own at the time. The two babies are a few weeks apart in age and when Ruby leaned over to give some love, she went a bit too far and BONK!


In this layout I used one of The ScrapRoom's Doubleshot kits from May 2010, Crate Paper Pink Plum collection with American Crafts Thickers.

And my final one for the week was challenge #5, to use the colors from the garden with a bit of brown. Since I only have containers with green, yellow, and red peppers, and some tomatoes, here is what I came up with:


Definitely not my kind of papers, but they came in my The ScrapRoom kit, and I decided that since I was making this one for Makayla, the youthful playfulness of the papers was perfect. The papers are from the KI Memories Groovy collection with some American Crafts felt thickers.

So far, so good!

I'm really hoping to post at least 15 to 20 times this month and get back in the habit of blogging on a regular basis. So without further ado....

This is week two of Willow Traders August THAW. I missed out on two of the challenges last week, so wasted two of my three possible skips already - GRRRRRRR!! This week I'm determined to do all three and this is my first entry for the week!

Because the kiddos going back to school is fast approaching, we were to take a school related item and incorporate it into a non-school layout for challenge #6. Interesting concept, but I managed to pull it off, or at least I think I did. =)


I used another sketch from Scrapbook Generation's Sketches For Scrapbooking, vol 6. The paper and chipboard stickers are from Cosmo Cricket's Garden Variety line, and the alpha is by Jillibean. And what is the school related item you ask? The October Afternoon Farm Fresh wild card!!

And yeah, I know I'm out of order, but its what I had in front of me at the time. =)

Godspeed

August THAW - challenge #1 - use a sketch

When I need a jumpstart to creativity, its time to participate in a challenge! Over at Willow Traders, August THAW started this past week and I'm trying my best to stay up with them. Here is Challenge #1 sketch:


And my creation:


I used American Crafts Dear Lizzy line and just love those little dresses! It is pure bliss when Ruby wakes from her nap with such a big smile on her face and playing with her little baby toes! SWEETNESS!!

Its that time of the month again!!

My bank account has been charged and that means The ScrapRoom kit is on its way!! This one is so bright and cheery and a great way to scrap a wide variety of those summer photos. =)


KI MEMORIES GROOVY (top left):
* 1 sheet Be Happy (2-sided)
* 1 sheet Bead Curtain (2-sided)
* 1 sheet Bell Bottoms (2-sided)
* 2 sheets American Crafts Rouge Cardstock
* 1/2 pkg. Groovy Softies (varies)
* (2) Groovy Journal Tag Sheets (varies)

ECHO PARK PAPER SWEET SUMMERTIME (top right):
* 1 sheet Cool Treats (2-sided)
* 1 sheet Summer Argyle (2-sided)
* 1 sheet Sun Spots (2-sided)
* 2 sheets Bazzill Artesian Pool Cardstock
* (1) 12"x 12" Sweet Summertime Elements Stickers

GLITZ KISMET (bottom left):
* 1 sheet Kismet Floral (2-sided)
* 1 sheet Kismet Numbers (2-sided)
* 1 sheet Kismet Stripe (2-sided)
* 2 sheets Bazzill Hershey Cardstock
* (8) 7Gypsies Assorted Red Photo Turns
* (1) BasicGrey Max & Whiskers Bloomer (varies)
* Coconut Buttons
* approx. 1/2 yard Brown Herringbone Twill

SASSAFRAS LASS CHERRY DELICIOUS (bottom right):
* 1 sheet Winsome (2-sided)
* 1 sheet Penelope (2-sided)
* 1 sheet Sapphire (2-sided)
* 2 sheets Bazzill Eggshell Cardstock
* 1/2 sheet Cherry Delicious Flag Banner Stickers
* 1 sheet My Little Shoebox Lemon Pie Alphabet Stickers

Coffee Flavor of the Month: DEATH BY CHOCOLATE

Even the coffee sample sounds wonderful!!

Godspeed

Still no word.....

...but I do feel better since talking to my primary care doctor. She has got to be the most wonderful lady in the world! She was so pissed about my whole ordeal and gave me a few numbers to call. She said this type of doctor is not what they want representing their clinic and it needs to be reported. THANK YOU! Once again I feel like someone cares about me as a human being instead of dollar signs!!

So in the midst of me waiting for a referral to come back from the insurance, I've decided the best way to get it out of my head is to SCRAP!! It has got to be the best mental therapy out there, at least for me!! =)

Here is one I started last night. Makayla and I went on a Birthday Shopping Spree for her and we ended with a special treat. She loves her "bubblegum ice cream in a cone with sprinkles on it!" She's such a silly 5 yr. old!


My second layout is for a challenge using no cardstock. I used the Crate Paper Brook collection and painted my Thickers chipboard alpha and coated them with Diamond Glaze to give them a shinier look. I usually don't overlap my photos, but think it came out pretty good this time around.


A late shift is calling me from my scrapping fun, so off I go to earn a paycheck

Godspeed

Vacation: Day 6

Well, time for my vacation is quickly coming to a close, and a dose of reality just slapped me upside the head! I wish it was something fun and witty, but no, its about my life and health. Right now, I'm pissed off at the medical profession and am scared out of my freakin' mind!

I had an MRI on my lower back on July 6th, was told the results would be back in a few days and I would hear back from them within the week. I already received the bills from the "poor bedside manner of a doctor" and now the MRI itself, but still no results! What day is it again? Oh, that's right, August 2nd and I had to call them!!! What the .....?

I already knew there was a possibility of bulging between #3 & #4, and between #4 & #5, that's not anything new, but it would have been nice to hear that from them instead of me calling. KWIM?! Anyways, the doc was out so the nurse read me the results. It appears that there's a "mass on the left kidney and left side of the bladder that needs further testing via CT scan in order to diagnose." REALLY?? They didn't feel it necessary to call me and tell me?? WOW!!

Right now I'm in shock. I've heard of this type of practice in the medical community, but when its you, you don't know whether to cry, scream, or throw something! So, I sit here babbling on my blog, which is my happy place, and hoping it'll make me feel better. Guess what, it didn't. I'm still pissed, annoyed, want to throw something, scream, cry, punch the wall, anything!!

So, here I sit and wait until I get a phone call tomorrow morning, trying to erase that call from my head. God, please give me the strength and courage for whatever lies ahead.

Godspeed

Vacation: Day 5 - I'm Pooped!

It has been such a joy to have the babies here these past two days. They are the absolute joy of our lives and each and every moment spent with them is so cherished. But, today, I'm pooped, worn out, exhausted, toys scattered here, there, and everywhere, and now that I think of it, I didn't even comb my hair today. It's been 30 yrs. since I had babies under foot 24/7 and honestly don't know how I did it. I definitely had more stamina then too, cause in all the chaos we all took a 1 1/2 hr. nap!

That said, tonight will be an early one. Nite all!

Godspeed