March & April 2013 Layout Pages

 

credits: at scrapbookgraphics.com: by Natali Design- Happy Hoppy Easter, At the Dawn of Spring Collection, by Bethany Harty- Easter Religious Wordart; Spring Fling by Crystal Livesay at PixelsandCompany.com; font: CK Becky

 
For March 2013 Scraplift Challenge at SBG, original layout by Lilith Eeckles.
credits: at Scrapbookgraphics.com: by Flergs- Candy Crush with Melita Bloomer, Candy Crush Extras Collection; Tangie Baxter- AJC11 Provisions Parcel 30 Gesso Textures; font: AJF Mock Turtle, custom font by Darcy Baldwin

  credits: Love is All You Need, Yes You Can Patterns and Prints, Yes You Can by Captivated Visions at scrapbookgraphics.com; Homebody templates by Crystal Livesay at Pixels&Company (part of Homebody collab by P&Co at MSA in April 2013)

 
credits: Let the Games Begin by Libby Pritchett and KCB at SweetShoppeDesigns.com; Rock the Blocks by Crystal Livesay at PixelsandCompany.com; Putt-Putt by Chelle's Creations at scraporchard.com;
font: Loosie Script 

 
credits: You and I by Litabells (newsletter freebie); Rock the Blocks by Crystal Livesay at PixelsandCompany.com; font: SBC Distressed Typewriter

  credits: at The-LilyPad.com: by Michelle Godin- A is For Awesome Papers, A is for Awesome Elements, Snarky Snippets: Awesome, by Kim Jensen: Ragged Edges; GWL Letters: June by Crystal Livesay and Sara Gleason at Pixels and Company
font: custom print by Darcy Baldwin

 
credits: Captivated Visions: You are Worth It Value Bundle, Mish Mash: Stamp Stash Value Bundle 1, CU Kraft Papers; Flergs: Volterra Glitter Styles, Magical Christmas with Jady Day (stars), Love 2 Dance with Charlize (rhinestone ring); Launchpad Feb 2013 template by Blagovesta, Tangie Baxter: Mansion Masquerade (black feather), Microferk: Tragic Romance (red feather), Luna (bling diamond); Jenn Barrette: Naturally Organic (spotted feather); retired: Urban Love by Birgit Kerr, Vivid Intensity by Kim Jensen; font: Arial

 
credits: Captivated Visions: You are Worth It Value Bundle, CU Kraft Papers, Everyone Has a Story; Flergs: Volterra Glitter Styles, Love 2 Dance with Charlize (rhinestone ring); Tangie Baxter: Mansion Masquerade (black feather), Microferk: Caliente Alpha, Tragic Romance (red feather), Luna (bling diamond); Effortless Templates by Crystal Livesay at PixelsandCompany; Jenn Barrette: Naturally Organic (spotted feather); retired: Urban Love by Birgit Kerr, Vivid Intensity (retired) by Kim Jensen  

 
journaling: Alice, Brenna and Brieyelle have had so much fun working together on their ballet trio. Between the extra rehearsals and the playdates together afterwards they’ve become really good friends too. I hope that it is a long-lasting friendship.
credits: What a Wonderful Day by Michelle Godin and Pink Reptile Designs at The-LilyPad.com; Fun With Shapes Vol. 3 Circles by Crystal Livesay at PixelsandCompany.com
font: custom font by Darcy Baldwin

  journaling: With 3 kids in the high school band, Friday nights are often filled with the sounds of grunts, cheering, stomping, pep band music and wolf howls now. It’s often cold, and the bleachers are uncomfortable before too long, but it’s fun cheering for the football team and the band. We are VR! Go Wolves!
credits: Play Ball by Dani Mogstad at jessicasprague.com, Round and Round by Dani Mogstad (retired); Template 219 by Yin Designs

  journaling: Dean Kamen set out to  bring the excitement of sports events to science, and I would say that he has succeeded. You can feel the emotions of the participants in the air when you walk into the Ritchie Center on FIRST regional weekend. The 2012 game was Rebound Rumble- the robots had to shoot 8 inch diameter foam basketballs into 3 levels of hoops, and cross and balance on bridges. Coopertition was taken to a new level with bonus points being awarded when robots from the 2 alliances balanced on the middle bridge together. The Cyber Wolves performance was a mixed bag this year. Essentially no practice time with the robot before Bag and Tag Day meant that all of the little glitches were found on the field during the actual matches. A third day of competition might have made all the difference in showing off what our robot was actually capable of this year.
credits: Play Ball by Dani Mogstad at jessicasprague.com, So Square by Dani Mogstad (retired); Homebody Templates by Crystal Livesay at PixelsandCompany.com
font: Century Gothic, custom font by Darcy Baldwin

Brown Teddy Bear Cupcakes

 

Party at Build-A-Bear = bear cupcakes, right? Well, I wanted brown teddy bears and I couldn’t find any simple ideas for them. There were white polar bears and panda bears, there were paw prints, and there were the cutest  sculptured teddy bears made out of Tootsie Rolls and other candies, but there were no easy brown bear ideas that I liked. :( I started touring the craft store cake decorating aisles and made up my own with things I found on the shelves, and since I’ve gotten so many good ideas from the lovely ladies who share their ideas on Pinterest and blogs I decided I would put instructions for my brown teddy bear cupcakes up for others to use too. These are so quick and easy, and even the littlest kids can help make them. Sarah was my helper this year and even my perfectionist self could let go enough to let her help. I think they turned out to be adorable.

1. Bake your cupcakes and let them cool. Choose any flavor you want since the cake part doesn’t show. Flatter top cupcakes will be easier to decorate, so don’t overfill the muffin cups.

2. While the cupcakes are cooling, collect your decorating supplies. Here is what I used:
Milk Chocolate Frosting
Wilton Light Cocoa Candy Melts
Wilton Brownie Crunch Turtle Sprinkles
Caramel Creams
Sixlets, black 12mm
Festival Candy Eyes
Wilton black Food Writer, or black decorating gel
optional: pink or red frosting or decorating gel

3. Frost the tops of the cupcakes with chocolate frosting.

4. Pour Turtle Crunch Sprinkles into a bowl and dip the top of the frosted cupcake into the sprinkles making sure to cover the whole surface. Add more sprinkles to the bowl as needed.

5. Unwrap a Caramel Cream candy and gently flatten it with a rolling pin until it is about a quarter inch thick. Put a small amount of frosting on one side of the flattened caramel and place it on the top of the cupcake near one edge. If your cupcake tops are rounder, gently shape the caramel to fit the curvature before sticking to the top.

6. Push 2 candy melt discs into the cupcake at a small angle at the opposite edge of the attached caramel to form the ears. I pulled the discs out and added a bit more frosting on the edge before reinserting it into the cupcake to more firmly attach it, but if you were in a time crunch you could probably do without that extra step since the cupcake is already frosted and they seemed to be fairly secure when first pushed in.

7. Put a dab of frosting on the backs of 2 candy eyes and place them on the cupcake between the caramel and ears.

8. Put a dab of frosting on a Sixlet and place on top of the caramel for the nose.

9. Draw a mouth on the caramel under the nose with a Food Writer or decorating gel.

10. Optional: You could add a tongue and/or pink to ears with frosting or decorating gel.

 

I made 2 dozen cupcakes and still had about a third of the Crunch topping leftover, so a 5 oz. jar should cover 3 dozen cupcakes.

The cupcakes transported to the party well, and the kids loved them.

These cupcakes have so many customization options depending on what decorating supplies you can find and what type of bear you want. Build-A-Bear bears come in a rainbow of colors and patterns. I found all of my decorating items at local craft and big chain stores on the shelves- Michaels, JoAnn Arts and Crafts, Hobby Lobby, and Wal-Mart- but the selection available in different areas might vary.
*Dark brown bears: use dark chocolate frosting and Brownie Crunch Cookies and Cream Sprinkles, dark chocolate candy melts, and flattened tootsie rolls for the muzzle. You could use chocolate jimmies in stead of the crunch sprinkles or just leave them off to let the frosting color show.
*Colored bears like the Sweet Cuddles Teddy, Autism speaks bears: use white or colored  frosting and cover with colored sugar sprinkles. Match the color of the candy melt and Sixlet (or M&Ms would work too for the nose!) to your bear color, and use flattened fruit flavored Tootsie Rolls or Starbursts for the muzzle.
*For multi-colored bears like the Furever Hearts, Lucky Clover, Rainbow Hugs, Champ  and Camo bears, use a mix of colored sugars. You can mix the colors for a random color look or layout specific lines or swirls of the colors in the bowl.
*For looks like the Cele-BEAR-ation, Pink Flurry, Colorful Stars bear, use white frosting and colored sugar, then add shaped sprinkles to the top before adding the face features.

January & February 2013 Layout Pages

   credits: at The-LilyPad.com: by Kim Jensen- Temperamental Painted Papers, Sketchy Alpha, Button Strings, Random Moments Elements(mesh), Srsly Stoked (with Kate Hadfield, sketched border); Michelle Godin- Just Because Papers; Amy Martin- Needed More Stitching 2; One Little Bird- For the Birds (feather scatter, retired); bird shapes by ~lukeroberts at deviantart.com; font: AJF Tweedledee

  credits: Studio Mix 38: Handful of Love by The Studio Girls at scrapbookgraphics.com; font: CK Becky

 
credits: by Michelle Godin at The-LilyPad.com: Build Your Wings with Melita Bloomer, Handcarved Stamps

 
journaling: There were periods of time when the kids were younger that I would have given a heck of a lot just to get out of the house for a little while. Now that they are all older and have lots of activities that keep us busy, I look forward to the times when all we have to do is stay home- no appointments, no classes, no meetings, nothing to have to watch the clock for..... nothing to do but sit and be still and relax. Being together is good, but being alone is pretty good too!
credits: Fun With Shapes by Crystal Livesay at Pixels & Company; Home by Kaye Winiecki and Studio Basic at The-LilyPad.com; Needed More Stitching by Amy Martin at The-LilyPad.com;
font: Chromosome Heavy, custom font by Darcy Baldwin

 
journaling: FIRST is a huge challenge each year- Design and build a robot that can accomplish the 2 or more difficult tasks in the year’s challenge, all in just 6 weeks. The scrimmage at Coronado didn't go as planned, it's never a good thing to be told that you misread a rule and your robot isn't legal to do what you need it to do. But, at least we found out about it in time to fix it before Stop Build Day. So, it was back to the Fab to reduce the height by 12 inches instead of being able to practice with the robot on the field. We can do it. Don't let the backward steps keep you from moving forward.
credits: Studio Mix 40: Life Is a Journey and Studio Mix 40: Life Is a Journey Flair by The Studio Girls at scrapbookgraphics.com; Angled by Crystal Livesay at Pixels and Company; font: custom font by Darcy Baldwin

 
journaling: I got up on the morning of Valentine’s Day to find Mark bringing in this beautiful boquet of a dozen red roses. Added to the poem Sarah wrote for us and the stack of chocolates and other candy treats I had for the kids, we had quite a pile of sweetness on the table.
credits: at scrapbookgraphics.com: On Chalkboard: First Love and On Chalkboard: First Love Alpha (blog freebie) by Palvinka, Volterra Glitters by Flergs; Lots of Love by Crystal Livesay at PixelsandCompany.com; font: custom print by Darcy Baldwin

journaling: The giraffe area of African Safari at the zoo is usually our first stop when we get to the zoo. The giraffes are always friendly and come up to say hello. Yes, they are looking for crackers or lettuce, but even if you don’t have food they will stay long enough for you to pet them on the nose.
credits: by Michelle Godin at The-LilyPad.com: Wild Thing with Paula Kesselring, Big Stampy Alphas, Teeny Tiny Alphas; Monogram Pagemap from ldsolutions.com
font: Blackout, custom font by Darcy Baldwin

December Scrapbook Pages and a Sewing Project

December was a busy month, but then it usually is. Band fundraisers, end of semester concerts, dance shows at nursing homes, parties…. it was all fun, but I’m usually glad to see the end of the holiday season arrive. I didn’t get around to cards this year- maybe in the new year? maybe not though. Robotics season  for 2013 begins this coming weekend and the first dance competition is only a few weeks away too. Here’s a pic of the kids Christmas Eve to wish you all a belated Merry Christmas!

  journaling: This was our first year helping with the band fundraising breakfast. I have to say that it was lots of work, and fun too. I was very impressed with how much was planned and how everyone, parents and students both, worked together to make it go smoothly and successfully. More importantly than the amount of money that was made was the fact that the families that attended had a good time and many said that they would be back next year.
credits: October Foundations by Crystal Livesay; Holiday Hoopla Collab at MyScrapbookArt; Stringbats 3 by Kim Jensen at The-LilyPad.com; Light It Up White by Gina Miller at The-LilyPad.com

  credits: Studio Mix #36- Miracle and Magic by The Studio Girls at scrapbookgraphics.com; font: Brush Script Std

journaling: We had an “official” White Christmas in Colorado Springs this year. For the weather service to declare it as an official event, there had to be at least an inch of new snow on the ground by 6AM on Christmas morning. The gentle snowfall began about 6 o’clock on Christmas Eve during the church service and continued through the night. By Christmas morning we had 1.5” of snow on the ground, and the first White Christmas since 1987. It continued to snow off and on all during Christmas day- not enough to make driving around town hard, but it was just enough to give the day a little extra magical sparkle and make us appreciate being able to stay inside next to the warm and cozy fireplace with family.
credits: Studio Mix 37: Puttin on the Glitz by The Studio Girls at scrapbookgraphics.com; font: Echelon

credits: at The-LilyPad.com: Michelle Godin- Christmas Canvas, Snarky Snippets: Winter, Keep Calm Splatter On; Jenn Barrette- Wild Child Mixed Bag; Jacque Larsen- Santa's Helpers; Valorie Wibbens- Stitching Christmas; Gina Cabrera at DigitalDesignEssentials- Holiday Cheer, Holiday Charm; Snow Layer Style by Wendyzine at scrapbookgraphics.com

credits: by Michelle Godin at The-LilyPad.com: Angelica- Art Journal Mini, Heavenly Papers and Heavenly Elements 

   
journaling: Brenna and her friends Alice and Brieyelle are doing a ballet trio together this year to the song “Glow” inspired by the Disney movie Tangled. Though we aren’t using the version with words, it talks about letting the princess in you shine.
credits: Whispers and Summer Nights alpha by Microferk at scrapbookgraphics.com; In Good Company template by Crystal Livesay at Pixels & Company; font: CK Becky

 
journaling: Unfortunately, the girls’ friends at school don’t always understand why they spend so much time at dance. It’s hard to say no to things they would like to do because they have dance class at that particular time. We’ve tried to help foster the friendship between Alice, Brenna and Brieyelle this year by arranging play dates for them outside of the dance studio. Usually they happen after they are done with their trio rehearsal on Saturday afternoons. The three of them enjoy having some unstructured play time together where they can relax and be themselves with friends who enjoy the same things, which makes for much happier girls all week.
credits: at scrapbookgraphics.com: Whispers and Summer Nights Alpha by Microferk, Blended Template 6 by Rosey Posey; Grow with Love Letters: July by Crystal Livesay and Sara Gleason at The-LilyPad.com; Found by Studio 68 at Oscraps.com; Stash Builder Scallops Trim by Megan Turnidge (blog freebie); Adding Light tutorial by Christine Smith
font: CK Becky

 
journaling: Bryce received the gift of Angry Birds in many forms this Christmas- pajama pants (2 pairs), a DS cartridge with 3 different video game versions, and Santa left a ‘real world’ version of the game for him to play with the family. He and the girls had fun building piggie forts on the table and flinging birds at them to try and knock them down. It’s harder than it looks... I think they need more practice!
credits: Ruffled Feathers by Traci Reed and Meg Mullens at SweetShoppeDesigns;  Grow with Love Letters: October by Crystal Livesay and Sara Gleason; at The-LilyPad.com: Angelica (clouds) by Michelle Godin, Sunny Santa (Santa hat) by Kate Hadfield; Christmas 2009 by Jacque Larsen (blog freebie)
font: Feast of Flesh, CK Constitution

I didn’t do a whole lot scrapping during the month of November, as I was working on a sewing project for one of the tap groups at our dance studio. They couldn’t find blue wizard robes like they wanted anywhere- either in the dance costume catalogs or in Halloween costume catalogs- so I was asked to sew them.

 

Between finding the needed materials, altering the pattern just a bit, cutting out all of the pieces for 2 different sizes and actually sewing the robes and hats, I know now just why dance costumes cost so much- the materials aren’t cheap even when you can find a good price, and it takes more time than you realize. Hemming yards and yards of fabric neatly, detail stitching in decorative thread, and hand-sewing on over 11 yards of marabou feather trim all takes a lot more time I thought it would. Now some of that time was because of my space limitations, cutting the fabric in the middle of the kitchen floor isn’t exactly ideal, and having to get all of the supplies out and put away every day takes time too. It was fun to work with something tangible for a change again though, and I have to say that seeing the girls dance in them is pretty neat too! (No, none of my girls are in this group this year, I’m just a sucker for a pleading request from Ms. Cindy to help her out LOL). Now I just have to get all of my own kids’ competition costumes that have come in altered!

Snapshot 2012 #24-26

Since the Snapshot posts got a little behind throughout the year, we were on warp speed in December to get them all up before 2012 came to an end. So, here are the last 3 pages to round out my Snapshot  2012 album. I guess I’m going to have to come up with some sort of cover for it now so I can get it printed and out of the virtual world.

Snapshot 24 is about the things you are thankful for right now. I listed a few along with a picture of the family at Thanksgiving this year.

 
journaling: Thanksgiving 2012- I’m so thankful this year for a family who loves me, good health, a place to live, clothes to wear, and enough for the extras that make living fun and special.
credits: Captivated Visions - Captivated 2012 November and All Stacked Up Backgrounds Vol 7; font: Snowshoe

 Snapshot 25 asks you to write a letter to the future. I chose to write down a few things I want the kids to know. I hope I have made it clear over the years, but it never hurts to put it down in writing too ;)

 
journaling: A few things I want my children to know before they grow up and leave our house:
*Believe in yourself and what you can do. Too many things today try to tell us that we can have or do something if only we change ourselves in some way to fit an ideal set by society. We all have worth just the way we are. If someone can’t accept you like you are, then they aren’t worth your time and attention.
*Find the things you enjoy and are good out and then pursue them. It may not always be easy, but you should enjoy what you do and the people who you are around.
*Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't. — Rikki Rogers.
credits: Just the Way You Are by Blagovesta Goshova at scrapbookgraphics.com; Grow With Love Letters- February by Crystal Livesay; font: CK Becky

Snapshot 26 is the final one, and it’s an all about me page to record who this snapshot of the year is about.

  journaling: Being a Stay At Home Mom wasn’t in my long-term plans when I was growing up. I had planned a career, but once I held my first child in my arms my priorities changed. Right now my days are filled by and revolve around what the kids need and want to do. I get frustrated sometimes at having so little time to myself. It can be quite boring cooking and cleaning and being the family taxi driver.  When I start to think negatively, I remind myself that I chose this, and that I’m privileged to be able to be at home full-time. Above all, I’m happy to be able to be there for my family, even when it is not all roses. I wouldn’t have it otherwise.
credits: Big Heart by Rosey Posey at scrapbookgraphics.com; Grow With Love Letters- August by Crystal Livesay; font: custom font by Darcy Baldwin

Snapshot 2012 #23

Snapshot #23 is about vacations and/or what you do to relax. 

 
journaling: The older kids are to the age where they are very busy year-round, and we haven’t taken a formal vacation in several years now. Books are still my favorite escape from everyday life, if only for a few minutes. There’s not much I find more relaxing than spending the day on the couch engrossed in a good story.
credits: at scrapbookgraphics.com: Shimmering Days by Lilas Designs, Once Upon a Time Storybook Nooks by Maya, An Open Book by Christina Renee, Once Upon a Time Fairytale Blue Alpha by Flergs, Once Upon a Time by Lorie Davison
font: Zapf Chancery, TXT Long Hand

Snapshot 2012 #22

Snapshot  #22 is about your  favorite things. I’ve done this sort of page many times before, but it’s a fun one revisit since usually there are some new things mixed in with the old favorites.

  
journaling: I love the changing of the seasons from summer to fall
          I love the color plum lately
     I love pumpkin spice anything - pie, bread, lattes, cookies, etc.
                   I love seeing my kids learn new things at school
         I love hearing the birds chirping in the tree outside my window
      I love high school football and listening to the band
                I love seeing the hot air balloons on Labor Day weekend

credits: Captivated 2012 September by Captivated Visions at scrapbookgraphics.com; October 2012 Foundations by Crystal Livesay
font: 2Peas Unforgettable, Century Gothic

Snapshot 2012 #21

Snapshot  #21 is about current technology and how we use it. I focused on the changes the technology of music has gone through in my lifetime.

Journaling: Music has always played a big part of my life. I remember fondly the first record player I received at Christmas. The Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, and Disney stories on LP kept me entertained in my room. As I got older the music changed to the Bee Gees, Sean Cassidy and Olivia Newton John. In middle school, boom boxes and cassette tapes became the standard music media. I made a few of my own mix tapes over the years by recording songs from the radio. In college, CDs came out and slowly took over the music market. Now in 2012 it’s mp3 files and instant downloads. I don’t know what will come next, but I’m sure I will go right along with that trend as it happens too because I just have to have music to listen to.
credits: at scrapbookgraphics.com: From My Journal: Limed Spruce Bundle and Limed Spruce Add-on by Captivated Visions, Studio Mix 12 Music & Me, Pinky Swear by Maya; Damaged Goods by Kim Jensen at The-LilyPad.com; cassette tapes by Fuzzimo; Bring On the Music by Mgl (retired)
font: custom font by Darcy Baldwin