Catching up on some layouts

I evidently haven't been very good about posting everything here as I get them done- oops! so, here are a bunch of new layouts for you to see.

My friend, Jess Gordon, is opening up a store over at SunshineStudioScraps and I got to play with her new kit, Christmas Heart. It's a gorgeous kit- great job, Jess!

journaling: We bought this hand-crafted pyramid in Rotenburg, Germany, and this was the first year I had put it out during the holidays in a while. The girls were fascinated with the nativity characters spinning by candlepower.
credits: Christmas Heart by Jess Gordon at SunshineStudioScraps; Worn Overlays by Manuela Zimmerman at scrapbookgraphics.com; fonts: CK Script and CK Becky

and here's the layout I did last month for Jess with her Cozy Sweater kit
credits: Cozy Sweater by Jess Gordon at CRD Block Party; Fall Colors by Dianne Rigdon at scrapartist; Scruffy Stitches by Amy Hutchinson at After5Designs; Rubon action by Atomic Cupcake; Pencil Lines Template 106 by Michelle Filofonts: Persimmon

Brenna and Sarah playing with my old baby doll we found in Grandmama's storage unit a couple of weeks ago.

journaling: I found my old baby doll in a box in my mom’s storage unit, and brought her and her bed back to the house for the girls to play with. Sarah was instantly enamoured of my old toy and carried her around, fed her and placed her in her bed for naps. The other girls got a few minutes with the precious baby every once in a while too. It was difficult to convince Sarah that Baby Doll needed to stay with Grandma where she would be safe and could be played with the next time we came for a visit.
credits: Phil & JayMay from the Young Love Collection and Everyday Basics Classic Frames by Chere Kaye at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; stitched alpha freebie by Syrin; Templates With Attitude blog freebie by Tracy Blankenship; fonts: CK Becky

A couple more pictures from the Balloon Classic this fall:

journaling: The Colorado Balloon Classic is a Colorado Springs tradition and one we enjoy participating every year over Labor Day weekend. We go to at least one of the morning liftoffs to enjoy the beautiful colors of the balloons against the blue Colorado sky and mountains. It is hard to get up early on a morning when I would rather sleep in, but it is always worth the extra effort. August 30, 2008
credits: Skidamarink by Libby Weifenbach and Chere Kaye; Templates with Attitude 18 and Toolbox 11 Templates by Tracy Blankenship at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; fonts: CK Extra and Times New Roman

Sarah reaching into her stocking last Christmas to see what was inside

credits: Holiday Fancy and Holiday Fancy Add-on by Dianne Rigdon at Scrapartist.com; Pencil Lines 106 template by Michelle Filo; candy canes and striped bow from Krafty Christmas Collection by Melinda Staley at Scrapdish; scruffy Stitches by Amy Hutchinson at After5Designs; fonts: CK Elsie

and a layout I did for the currrent Hodge Podge challenge to count your blessings. I used Holly McCaig's newest kit for this one.

journaling: I used to wish my family was a little bigger as a kid. We lived far away from our relatives and didn’t see them very often. They say, “be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.” Mark and I had talked about 3 or 4 kids- I always thought 3 would be a good number. I didn’t count on having a set of twins or one last surprise after we thought our family was complete. Things are just about always noisy and messy , but I wouldn’t have it any other way now, of course . Six blessings may be bigger than I originally planned, but it is the perfect size- I should have dreamt a little bigger!
credits: Dream Big and felt heart from Jubilee (recolored) by Holly McCaig at HollyMcCaigDesigns; Hodge Podge Challenge template by Emily Powers; fonts: CK Becky

Fall Leaves and a freebie

I mentioned how gorgeous our maple tree was this fall a couple of posts ago. Well, here are the pictures finally.


Just a day after I took the above photos, a cold-front came through with high winds and knocked most of the leaves off the tree and into the yard. Of course the girls have had fun playing in them ;) Bryce hasn't been out there cavorting with them this year for some reason, so you won't see him in the photos. I got Sarah and Brenna out in the yard before we started raking them up, so there is a pretty carpet of red and orange leaves all around them.




The twins wanted to jump in a leaf pile, so they got out the rakes and made themselves one to jump in.



I have managed to scrap one of the photos I took with Chere's new fall papers, and I had to add in some of the leaves from off our tree which I was glad I had taken the time to pick and scan after taking the photos of the tree.

credits: by Chere Kaye at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns.com: Fall Foliage and Fall Solids papers, Glimmer Leaves, alpha and trim from Caleb and Stacey; Cookie Decorating 101 template by Jaclyn Bernardo for SweetShoppeDesigns; maple leaves by me; worn overlays 2 by SomethingBlueStudios at catscrap; fonts: SBC Calligrapher 2000

I hope some of you reading this can use some gorgeous maple leaves for your layouts too! Enjoy scrapping with them. You can download the leaves HERE.

I've been working on something new for the store for the Digital Scrapbook Day celebration we have planned at Scrapdish. My little idea turned into a very big project that I have spent almost a week on now. I hope to have some previews ready to show off tomorrow!

Today's Savannah LOs

still plugging away on my photos....

credits: Michael Finnegan papers, Sequin Borders, Ring Around the Sequin, flower from Dave and Raya, and I Need A Date by Chere Kaye at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; alpha from Hoottenanny by Chere Kaye and Libby Wiefenbach at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; For the Love of Space Templates by Amy Martin at The-LilyPad; Paint brushes by Michelle Coleman; font: CK Elsie

Telfair Square was the first of the Savannah town squares that I came across in my walking tour of the historic district. I was amazed by the peaceful calm that was there in the middle of the bustling city, and found the silhouettes of the large live oak and magnolia trees a wonderful sight in the late morning light.
credits: Spring Inspiration and Spring Inspiration Add-on by Chere Kaye at Funkyplaygrouddesigns; Take Two Photomats No 3 by Tracy Ann Robinson; Old papers by SophiaSarducci at ChristinaReneeDesigns Block Party; font: Shelley LT Allegro, Susie's Hand

scrapbook pages- Savannah, Monsters and Thanksgiving

A few layouts from our Savannah trip- these first two are actually pictures from our night and day in Charleston. We ate at Bubba Gumps our first evening there and it was delicious and the atmosphere was very unique!

journaling: After a long day spent at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Savannah and then driving to Charleston in our rented PT Cruiser, finding a hotel and sightseeing on Sullivan's Island and Fort Moultrie we were hungry and ready to eat! We found Bubba Gump’s and were seated right away. After starting with an order of Hush pups, Melinda ordered the "I'm Stuffed!" Shrimp - shrimp stuffed with crab, baked in garlic butter and topped with Monterey Jack cheese. Mark ordered the Cajun Shrimp -Shrimp Sauted in a hot and spicy Cajun Butter Sauce and served with jasmine rice and garlic bread for dipping. We had been eyeing the chocolate cookie sundae for dessert, but were much too full after eating our main dishes. The Forrest Gump memorabilia, pictures are props were fun to look at, we enjoyed chatting with our waitress, and we would go back again!
credits: background and restaraunt ephemera by me; photo frame by Nancy Comelab; tape by Black Squirrel Designs; Stationeries paper by Linda GilBildal at scrapartist.com; starfish from Me Hearties by Clever Crow Designs and Berry Me In the Sand by Amy Hutchinson; rubon action by Atomic Cupcake; font: CK June Bug Louise

I loved the decor of the Palmetto Carriage Tours barn- an actual red barn right off Market street where all of the tours start.

journaling: There was a rooster wandering around the carriage barn- he was looking for handouts from waiting guests, but he would let you pet him briefly too. I also liked the rooster sculptures perched in the rafters around the barn. A cute sign in the outer courtyard where the mules are tethered during their breaks. The carriage company uses mule teams to pull their carriages- ours were named Lucy and Sully. We spent Sunday morning touring downtown historic Charleston. We spent Sunday morning touring downtown historic Charleston. We opted to take a carriage tour to save my aching feet a bit (I had a rather large blister on my left foot from all of the walking in Savannah and the cobblestone and tabby sidewalks weren't helping) and we got to hear local history and stories that we wouldn't otherwise learn about.
credits: Caleb and Stacey from the Young Love Collection by Chere Kaye at funkyplaygrounddesigns; Brazen Borders by Tracy Blankenship at funkyplaygrounddesigns; string (recolored) by Catherine Designs from Happy Hour collab at After5Designs; font: CK Becky

Now it's back to Savannah with pictures of the Owens-Thomas house we toured on Monday.

journaling: After admiring all of the houses in the historic district from the outside, I chose this one as the one I wanted to tour on Monday. No photographs were allowed inside the house, and I doubt I need to say that it was beautiful and a great way to peek into the history of Savannah.
credits: Marilla Collection by Michelle Godin and Wrought Iron element from Measure of a Man by Birgit Kerr at scrapbookgraphics.com;
font: ILS Script

credits: Marilla Collection by Michelle Godin at scrapbookgraphics.com; font: ILS Script

Photos from the special exhibit at the St. Louis Science Museum this summer on movie monsters and animatronics.

journaling: After lunch we got tickets to the special exhibit called "Monsters" which explored the
world of movie monsters and animatronics. There were lots of scary monsters there, but Sarah didn't seem bothered by them since they were still and didn't make noise. With everything from creepy, scary monsters to fuzzy and cute animals there was something in this exhibit to entertain everyone. There was a movie that showed us how they sculpt, form, and animate the creatures, as well as lots of signs and photos with the models themselves. We saw models from many movies including George of the Jungle 2, Peter Pan, Nim’s Island, Inspector Gadget 2, Pitch Black, Oceans of Fire, Racing Stripes, and Wolfman, among others. -St. Louis Science Center, St. Louis, MO
credits: Closet Monsters by Victoria Greenlees and Holly McCaig at Chirpi Creative Digital Scrapbooking; Template 68 by Yin Designs; fonts: 2Peas Dear Diary

and some cute photos of Sarah feeding the Nortons' dogs last Thanksgiving. It is amazing how bad I am at taking photos during Thanksgiving- these are the only ones I took last year and they are of one child feeding the dogs dog food by hand LOL I guess I need to do a better job this year- anyone who will be there is fore-warned-- the camera will be out and snapping this year!!

journaling: Sarah thought that the dogs at the Nortons were the best thing about Thanksgiving dinner. She followed and chased them around and around the house the whole time we were there. She tried sampling their dog food, and got upset when we told her it wasn’t for her to eat. Everything was OK though once she understood that it was the dogs’ food and it was alright for her to feed it to the dogs. She spent about half an hour feeding them one piece of food at a time- even the dogs must have thought that was pretty neat since they went along with it for so long.
credits: French Countryside by ChristinaRenee and Shabby Princess; Templates with Attitude 17 and Toolbox 15- Pet Pal Cuties by Tracy Blankenship at funkyplaygrounddesigns.com; colored chrome action by Atomic Cupcake; fonts: Boys R Gross and CK Constitution

sharing more new LOs

It's finally the 15th, and that means that the FPD makeover is finally revealed, there are lots of new goodies in the shop, and I can show you some of the layouts I've made with Chere and Tracy's new things I've been hoarding!

First up, a couple more birthday party LOs for Beth and Carissa. The first one is from the family dinner we had on the 14th, and the second the girls on their new bicycles which were their gifts from their father. I used Tracy's Templates with Attitude 16 and all of the papers and elements are by Dianne Rigdon. I love the birthday confetti and garlands- so fun!

journaling: We celebrated Beth & Carissa’s 10th birthday with the family on Aug 14, 2008. Grandmama came over for dinner- Hawaain chicken chosen by Beth, and cherry chip cake with chocolate icing and sprinkles on top. Then, they opened their gifts- MP3 players from Grandmama, Klutz books from the Rodeffers, watches and music CDs from Mama, and an IOU for new bicycles from Daddy.
credits: Chelsea Meadow collection, Out on a Whim (scalloped mat and file tab), Scrapfetti alpha and Scrapfetti Happy Birthday Sprinkles and Garland by Dianne Rigdon at scrapbookgraphics.com; Photogrids #1 templates by Jen Caputo at scrapbookgraphics.com; Templates with Attitude 16 by Tracy Blankenship at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns.com; fonts: 2Peas Dear Diary

journaling: Beth and Carissa received IOUs for new bicycles from Daddy at their family birthday party on the 14th. Saturday the 16th, they got to go shopping with him and they came home with these new purple bicycles which they have enjoyed riding around the neighborhood.
credits: Chelsea Meadow collection, Notables Tagables, Scrapfetti alpha and Scrapfetti Happy Birthday Sprinkles and Garland by Dianne Rigdon at scrapbookgraphics.com; stitch from Life is a Bistro alpha by Dianne Rigdon; Templates with Attitude 16 by Tracy Blankenship at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns.com; fonts: 2Peas Dear Diary

and this LO with Chere Kaye and Miss Tiina's new collab kit, Your Future is Bright. This is my good friend, Marta. I took the picture at our annual July 4th barbecue at another friend's house this summer.

credits: Your Future is Bright by Chere Kaye and Miss Tiina at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; Triple Dipped Stitches The Basics #2, and Everyday Basics Office Finishers by Chere Kaye at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; Smarties Vol 1 template by Teresa Ferguson; fonts: CK Constitution

and this last one is with Chere's first kit, David and Maya, in a new collection called "Young Love" and it also uses another TracyB template from Templates with Attitude 17.

credits: David and Raya and Filer Tabs from the Young Love Collection by Chere Kaye at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; Templates with Attitude 17 by Tracy Blankenship at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; fonts: CK Legacy, TXT Antique Poster

Fall Leaves Fun LO

credits: Hootenanny by Chere Kaye and Libby Weifenbach at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns and SweetShoppeDesigns; and Hootenpoppy Papers by Chere Kaye at FPD; Collection 26 templates by Jen Caputo at scrapbookgraphics.com; fonts: Bickley Script

Happy 4th of July!

oh my, time sure does slip by quickly these days. It's hard to believe that June is over already. We are looking towards our vacation that starts in a little over a week. We are headed to Chicago for a week, where I am looking forward immensely to hanging out with my bud Robin for a couple of days at CHA as well as meeting up with other digi gals I've known for years too. After we are done in Chicago we are heading to St. Louis and then Oklahoma to visit Dale and my grandparents for a few days before heading home. It will be a quick week then to get the kids ready to start school the first week of August, and just like that summer will be over for us.

The twins started their summer dance class two weeks ago. They are taking the Petite Tap Prep class again this summer and will be trying out for the Petite Tap ensemble group after the summer class is over.

It seems like I don't get nearly as much done these days, but here are a couple of things I finished up this week.
An envelope travel album to take on vacation with us so that I have a place to store all of the miscellaneous memborabilia I inevitably accumulate on a trip:

credits: Travel Envelope Album templates by Eva Blokker at Scrapartist.com; Down With Daisies by Carrie Stephens at PrimaHybrid.com
paper credits: Reverie paper (#602246) from the Caliope Collection, Elysee ribbon (#519520) and flower (#120023) by Prima, Marketing, Inc.; Textured Trio ribbon by Michaels; letter stickers by Creative Memories

If you want to see some of the inside pages, you can check out the album in my gallery.

and a couple of LOs with new kits by Chere Kaye that came out at the beginning of the week:

journaling: Sarah, we had such a busy day this day in Cripple Creek and you were just a doll the whole day- having fun and showing off your sweet smile to everyone you met.
credits: Girly Denim by Gina Miller and Chere Kaye; fonts: CK Kiddo and CK Neat Print

credits: Ka-Boom by Chere Kaye and Marcie Reckinger at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns.com; fonts: CK Becky

and last night I put together this layout with photos from one of last year's July 4th celebrations that we attended down in Pueblo at their Riverwalk park:

journaling: It was a good old-fashioned family party at the Pueblo Riverwalk on June 30, 2007. The lawn and walkways were crowded with people enjoying the oldies, but goodies, music and each other’s company. The kids thought we were just a bit silly singing along to the songs. Sarah entertained herself by pushing the stroller around in circles within the little space we had staked out for ourselves. We were a little too close to the river for comfort and had to constantly remind them to stay away from the edge so they wouldn’t fall in. We had a spectacular view of the fireworks when they went off finally though as we were sitting right in front of them.
credits: American by Redju; Doodled Acrylic Alpha by Amy Hutchinson; Templates with Attitude 14 by Tracy Blankenship at Scrapdish.com; fonts: CK Becky and Century Gothic

We were planning to head to Pueblo this evening for their beach party concert and fireworks, but it has been raining off and on since about 7- along with thunder and lightning- so we opted to stay home and save our fireworks outing for the one at Memorial Park tomorrow. The weather reports say tomorrow should be fine firework viewing.

I got to spend this afternoon with a good friend I haven't seen in a while and enjoyed that time a lot. We sit in the kitchen and do our crafty things together while the kids play together. As I was packing up my stuff to come home, I ran the little toe on my left foot into the corner of the tray she keeps the dog food and water bowls on- ouch! I'm not totally sure what I did to it, but it hurts like the dickens, is swelling up and has a rather large purple bruise on it for such a small appendage. Another foot annoyance, darn it. Once again, I've done this before and know there is nothing to do but wait it out. It's not as bad as the times I know I fractured it, so hopefully it is just a bad bruise and will heal quickly. I don't think I will be wearing shoes with toes for a few days :P

Oh, and my 20th High School reunion is coming up August 1st. I won't be able to make it again (read that first paragragh up top), so I volunteered to help put together a section for the DVD they are planning to put together to send out to people after the reunion. I will be working on the section with current photographs of my classmates and their families along with info on what they are doing. I'll probably regret the time commitment eventually, but I am looking forward to peeking a tiny bit into everyone's lives and seeing where they are now. I find it amazing how I'm not surprised by the career choices some make, while others are doing things I never would have imagined for them. I don't think anyone would have pegged me as a stay at home mom with 5 kids who did 'artsy-craftsy' things at a professional level, so I just might surprise a few of them too ;)
I got my first set of pictures from an old classmate via email last night and I've spent most of today coming up with some things to work with that will hopefully make the whole project go a bit more quickly when crunch time arrives. And that reminds me I need to go dig out my Dover books from the storage area before the girls head off to bed!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend everyone!

Latest LOs and card

My favorite pic I got of Carissa at the zoo Saturday.
credits: by Chere Kaye at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns: Everyday Basics Neutral Papers, Everyday Basics Classic Frames, Layering Templates, You're So Transparent Alpha, Triple Dipped Stitches- The Basics #2, Numbers Talk, Office Finishers; Funky Flowers Brights by Paint the Moon (Annie Manning) at oscraps, glitter layer style by Linda Sattgast, acrylic shadow style by Traci Reed
fonts: CK Invitation

I have nice pictures of all of the other kids too, and I got some better pics of the grizzly bears. I'll have to get my favorites from the new exhibit put together for a post soon.

journaling: Well kiddo, we did it- we survived the first year of middle school. Yes, I know that you were the one to actually attend and do all of the work, but I'm your mom and I was concerned about how the year would go for you. You had your ups and downs during the year, the good and bad days, the good and not so good choices. Overall though, I think I can say that it was a pretty good year for you. You've picked good friends. You worked hard and did your best most of the time. I'm proud of you and all that you accomplished. I'm sure 7th grade will be an even better year! I love you, Bryce. 5-23-08
credits: Joey from the Coffee House Friends collection by Chere Kaye at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; fonts: CK Becky

and a graduation card I made for the son of some old friends we met in Germany. I can't believe that the baby I used to watch on occasion is 18 and graduating from high school.

digital credits: Downtown Living papers by Corina Nielsen at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; white paper from White Papers by Vera Lim at PrimaHybrid; font: CK Regal
paper credits: Congratulations stamp by PSX, Textured Trios ribbon by Michaels, chipboard bracket from Journalist Collection Chipboards by Prima (#516482), Scrap Essentials brads by Joann Fabric and Crafts, Ranger Distress Ink (Black Soot)

We've been cleaning out lots of things and my husband has been rearranging the furniture. yuck. Tomorrow morning we go to Grandmama's house to help clean out her garage, and then I'm sure we will be back at it here at home in the afternoon. Yes, the house really needs it, but it isn't exactly the funnest way to spend the holiday weekend.