Queen of the Crop

Hello.  What is new & exciting with you?  I hope that you are enjoying what is left of this summer.  I know we only have a few weeks left, & then it is back to a schedule/routine of school, work, & everything else in between.   I, again, am late in getting these layouts posted, but that is just an indication of how awesome our summer is going.  Full of things to do & places to see!  In the midst of it, my parents were here for a visit as well.  So much fun!!   Here are my 2 layouts for Nuts About Sketches .  Starting with #275   These are pics of my girls hanging out in my dad's boat & just goofing around.  I gave him this layout to put in his ongoing album.   & #276     This pictures make me giggle every time I see them!  This is a typical Emma moment when she was just over a year old. Happy, & loving to be naked.   Thank you for looking today....

Hello there!  I am a few days late in posting this, but better late than never.  The newest challenge was posted at Red Carpet Studio on Sunday.  Honestly, this is a such a fun challenge!  I loved creating the card this week!  You'll see why below!   Inspired by "The Hangover," this week RCS is challenging you to create a card featuring a drink/cocktail! The challenge runs from July 28th - August 3rd, so be sure to head over to RCS & link up your creation.    The sponsor this week is Squigglefly ! One lucky, randomly chosen winner will receive 3 digital stamps of their choice!  & let me tell you, there are some awesome stamps to chose from!!    Here is the card that I created for the challenge!  I used digital images from Squigglefly .  How fun is this image? lol.      & this is the inside of the card:   I now need to figure out the perfect person...

Just because there's not snow on the ground, doesn't mean Christmas can't be celebrated a few months early! Happy Christmas in July, everyone, and welcome to Red Carpet Studio 's Christmas in July blog hop! If you're unfamiliar with Red Carpet Studio , we're a challenge blog that challenges crafters to create projects inspired by movies! Right now we offer alternating weekly card and layout challenges, but starting in September we'll be opening up our challenges to any types of projects that fit our theme, as well as extending the duration of the challenges to biweekly to give you awesome crafters more time to create and play along! We're also having a design team call! Now onto my project.. I recently bought a kit at Archiver's, & I have been busy making my Christmas cards.  Of course I've added my own personal touches & tweeks, but here is what I have created so far:   My favorite Christmas movie of ...

Woo Hoo!!  Look at what is coming up this weekend!  I am so excited!  & the funny thing is that I have been working on my Christmas cards while I have been working each night!  Yay!  So, mark your calendar & be sure to join the design team of RCS this weekend for the fabulous Blog Hop!!

Good morning!    With everything that is going on this summer, I totally missed last weeks sketch.  I normally have all my layouts done months in advance, but with the summer here, & all the activities we have been doing, I haven't been getting them done until the very last minute.  (Sorry Shawn!!).  Now, this week, I had it done in plenty of time, but didn't get my blog post scheduled!  I am hoping for a regular schedule soon!  ;o)   In any case, here is the layout that I created using Shawn's latest & greatest sketch at Nuts About Sketches !  Love it!!           I used scraps from a very old kit, & the pictures are of Emma & her oldest friend, Jack.  Look at how little they are!  Emma is 11 months old here, & Jack is 10.  Now they are both entering 3rd grade!  Boy how time flies.  Since moving to TX, we don't get to see or talk to them often, but E...

With how crazy busy we have been this summer, I am a little late in posting this, but better late than never, right?  Yesterday a new challenge was posted at Red Carpet Studios & is a great one!!    Inspired by the all the wonderful action movies out there, this week the Red Carpet Studio is having an "action" challenge by asking you to use Action Wobbles on your cards! The fabulous sponsor this week is  Treasure Box Designs !  One lucky, randomly chosen winner will receive a $15 gift certificate to their store!   I figured with Christmas just 5 months away, I should start in on my cards!  What a better way than to start out wobbly!  I made this card using some paper from a daily scrapbooking calendar that I picked up at a dollar store!!  I fussy cut the gingerbread men, wobbled the middle one, added some doodles, ribbon, & a bling brad, layered them all together, & viola!!      Since I...

Happy Monday!  & Happy 1st day of July!  This summer is flying on by, that's for sure, but I must say, that today, is the first day of the summer that we do not have a single thing planned.  I am not sure what I am going to do with myself.    Today a new sketch is posted at Nuts About Sketches .  It is a double page layout, & another great one!  This is what I created with it:       I made a layout of the girls with my father on Easter in 2010.  They look so small here!  They were out back at my parents house & they were just goofing around with Paw-paw & having a great time!  They love their Paw-paw!  Speaking of which, Paw-paw, act surprised when you get this page, it is for you to add to your album, (for father's day).  You will get it when you arrive in a few weeks.   Thanks for looking today!  I hope that you have a fabulous July 4th weekend!!  

Good morning.  What are you up to today?  Are you having a good weekend.  This weekend it was in excess of 105 degrees here in TX.  I am so not used to this heat.  Thank goodness we have A/C & that we live a block away from the pool.  Now, what would be better is if we had a pool in our backyard, but not yet.  One of these years.... Today at Red Carpet Studios , a new challenge is posted.  This is a good one!  Anything goes!  Both the card & the layout teams came together for this one, & boy you should see some of the creations.  Be sure to head over there for some great inspiration! The challenge runs from June 30th to July 6th, & is based on 3D Movies, & is exactly as I said, Anything Goes!  Our sponsor is The Paper Parade , & once you link your project, one lucky winner will receive a $15 gift certificate for their store!  What an awesome prize!! The inspiration behind the project...

Good morning!  Since the kids are out of school, I have not been on any kind of schedule, & everything is all off kilter for me.  I am so used to having my blog posts scheduled a month or so in advance, & unfortunately, that hasn't been happening. I am so sorry!  I am playing catch up with last week & this weeks sketches from Nuts About Sketches .   #270 A wonderful double page layout!      I just loved working with this sketch.  It was so much fun, & you could do so much with it.  I just loved these pictures that I used too.  We had these doll high chairs, & the girls would sit in them & play beauty salon.  It was so cute!  I don't think that their big toe would fit in them now!    and   #271     Oh my gosh!  The days of the Cozy Coupe Car!  She loved this car, & would spend hours upon hours in it! She would ride in it by herself, ...

Well, hello there!!  Happy Sunday!  We are in the second to last week of June.  I cannot believe that!  Swim team has been keeping us busy every single day, & it has finally come to an end. The girls did outstanding for their first year, & I look forward to another season next year.  We also had KidServe at church (The Commons UMC) this past week, our version of VBS.  We made Bags of Grace for the homeless, which my husband had the opportunity to hand to someone in need, we made blankets for the kids at Texas Children's Hospital, & made disaster relief bags.  We also made centerpieces for a nursing home, & at the same nursing home, the kids sang some songs for them.  It was a very moving, eventful week, & the best part is that the children understood it!  At least mine did!  It is amazing to see God work in their lives. Enough about that!  I have a new crafty thing to share with you today!  At Red Carpet S...

Happy Monday!  Happy first day of the week.  This is our first Monday with no school, for the summer break.   We are spending the morning at swim practice, then something fun for the rest of the day, I'm sure.    With everything going on at the end of the school year, I forgot to schedule my post for last Monday, so here are both of my designs for Nuts About Sketches #268 & #269.      I kind of like posting these together becuase the cupcake layout is of Emma when she was almost 1, & the below layout is of Emma when she was 6. It is fun to look at pictures & compare what they looked like & what they have become.  Now what would be really cool, if I had another layout to post of her today (age 8).    Thank you for looking today.  I hope that you swing by Nuts About Sketches to check out the actual sketches & maybe create something yourself.  Have a wonderful week!  Hope to...

Hi there & happy Sunday! The first Sunday of summer. Wednesday was the last day of school for the girls & we have a busy summer planned.  Lots of library time, swim team, VBS, camps.  It should be a lot of fun!   Today is a new challenge at Red Carpet Studio , & in honor of the graduating class of 2013, of course, the challenge is based on the movie "The Graduate".  It will run from  June 9th - June 15th, & you must create a graduation card.  Once complete, please link it up over at Red Carpet Studio for a chance to win a prize from the wonderful sponsor this week QKR Stampede :     The prize will be 5 digis of winner's choice. Awesome!!   I don't know any graduates this year, so I went kind of generic with my card.  I made a "congrats" card, which of course we would congratulate a graduate, right?  Anyway, here is my creation:   I embossed off white card stock, inked it to make the des...

Happy Monday!  Boy time is flying!  Can you believe that it is almost June.  The kids just have a week & a half left of school, then they are home for the summer.  I know they are looking forward to it, but am I?  lol.    You are going to love the new sketch at Nuts About Sketches this week.  This is like nothing that I have ever done.  Totally out of my comfort zone, but it was fun to do!  Check it out:       All the triangles, pretty cool, huh?  I actually used washi tape on this lo.  That is the newest craze & I jumped on the band wagon to see what it was all about.  It is fun.  Kinda like ribbon, but you can rip or tear it, & do all kinds of fun things to it.  I cut the banner out of a strip of scrap paper, used some "pebbles" up in the top corner, & a little toole to add some dimension.   The pictures are taken just this past year, 2012, in Storybooklan...

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!  I hope that you are enjoying this long holiday weekend, & doing something fun!  This week, the week of May 26th - June 1st, Red Carpet Studios is hosting a new challenge featuring one of my all time favorite movies.   "Sixteen Candles".  When I was a kid,   I loved this movie!  Molly Ringwald was my idol.  In fact, for my 16th birthday, my sister had written a letter to Molly inviting her to my Sweet 16 party!  She didn't come, but it was so thoughtful of my sister to invite her!   The challenge this week, based on the movie, is to create a Birthday Card!   The Sponsor is:   Paper Pretties , & the prize is the winner's choice of  digital image sets!  6!!  That's amazing!  So be sure to link up your birthday cards at RCS for your chance to win this fabulous prize!     I chose this image t...

Monday is here again, already.  I am going on my 2nd week without my dh. He is up in PA on business but getting to see his family & mine!  Talk about not being fair!!  Oh well.  At least he gets to soak up a bit of home for a bit.   Today a new sketch was posted at Nuts About Sketches .  This may be my new favorite one that she has done recently.  I really like how this turned out:         I used 100% scraps, except for the card stock.  & I used a package of multi-layered flower stickers that I had in my stash.  The pictures are of Emma & Audra when they were 2 & 3months.  We had gone to a birthday party at Gymboree, & they were dressed alike.    Thank you for stopping by. I surely hope you enjoy my creations as much as I love make them!  See you soon.

Hello!  How are you today.  It's another great Monday for sketches at Nuts About Sketches !  Shawn revealed a new sketch today, along with all the DT members creations, & it was nothing less that spectacular!  It was a double page lo, which I don't do too many of any more, so this was a lot of fun for me.  Here is what I created:       The paper is summer paper, & there were surf boards all over the one.  I fussy cut the surf boards out to make the big flower that you see.  It turned out pretty cute, I think.   The pictures are from when Tony had a football clinic in Wildwood, NJ.  He went off to his meeting so the girls & I went to the pool, then wandered down to the beach.  We had so much fun that day!!  They swam in the pool, & we thought the ocean would be too cold, so we had gotten dressed & were just going to play in the sand.  As it turned out, they were splashing around...

Happy Mother's Day!  I hope all you mothers out there are being appreciated & honored today!  You deserve it! And what better way to honor mother's day than to have a challenge at Red Carpet Studios !  Especially the them that it is this week.  For the week of  May 12th - May 18th, the challenge is based on the movie  "Baby Mama".  And what you are asked to do is create a baby-themed card.  Easy, right?!   Our sponsor this week is Eureka Stamps , & the winner will get to chose 5 digi stamps of their choice!  That is a great prize!  The selection is amazing!  You will love them!     Eurka Stamps allowed us to pick a digi stamp to use on our creations this week.  Here is what I chose, & created with it:     I used Heidi Swapp paper & banner, October Afternoon buttons, We Are Memory Keeper Sew Easy twin, & my Tombow markers, & pop dots to give my image dim...

Wow! Are you as surpirsed as I am?  Another post this week!  That is a record for me!  It isn't a Sunday or a Monday either!  Well, today I wanted to share with you a layout that I did for the From Here 2 Scrapternity April Sketch challenge.  It was a beautiful sketch (well, you know that I love sketches!), & here is what I created with it: It's another paper pack that I have no idea where it came from or what the manufacturer is, but I like the design down the side.  The banner I fussy cut from scrap paer, the flowers are random from my stash, the green lacy strip is actually a Basic Grey boarder sticker, & the brown lettes are American Crafts Thickers, & the pink letters are Simple Stories. A modge podge of all kinds of manufacturers! The girls are very young again.  Audra under 1, & Emma is 2.  Just a random day of them playing & Audra following in Emma's footsteps.  Anything she did, Audra would have...

Hi there!  I may have mentioned that while I was away at my retreat a few weeks ago, I got caught up on my DT work, & was able to get to some challenges.  Every month at From Here 2 Scrapternity , we post about 4 challenges ranging in subjects.  This one was encouraging you to use your stash or flowers and/or butterflies.  I used both on this layout: The paper is all left over paper that I had in a kit.  Not really sure where it came from & there was no manufacturer information on it.  The butterflies are wooden veneers from Studio Calico.  Aren't they so cute?  I just love butterflies on layouts!  The letters are of course American Crafts Thickers. The picture is of the girls when in 2007.  I love scrapping old pics of them.  It just takes me back to when they were so small, & didn't talk back!  lol.  Boy they are growing up fast!! Thank you for stopping by here today.  I am so glad that ...

Happy Monday morning!  Today is Monday, so that means another sketch reveal at Nuts About Sketches .  So, head on over there to check out the new sketch & what my fellow design team members have done with it.    Here is what I have created with it:     The pictures are of Emma & her BFF Jack in PA.  It wasn't "technically" the first day of school, but since they had started preschool, they had always had first day pics taken together.  This year, schedules changed, & with our impending move to PA, we missed the actual 1st day.  These were taken the 2nd day of school, AFTER school.  In any case, we got their pictures together.  It is fun to look back & see how they have grown over the years.  Unfortunately, this was the last first day pic we can get with them together, as they are in PA & we are in TX.   Thank you for stopping by.  See you back soon!