what we’ve been up to the last couple of weeks

I’ve been meaning to get my blog updated for the last couple of weeks and just haven’t gotten to it. We’ve been mostly doing the ‘usual’ stuff for this summer- transporting girls back and forth to dance classes, trying to keep up with the grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning up. The kids run around the block to all of their different friends’ houses when we are at home. I took them to see the Hannah Montana movie at the second-run theater on Tuesday last week. Sarah is not my favorite company at movies. Once she was done eating her popcorn she was ready to go, and that was about the time the previews ended and the movie finally started. For the next two hours I had to keep telling her to sit down and be quiet and no, she couldn’t go to the bathroom (she uses it as something to do when she is bored). Maybe if we had chosen to see ‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ instead she would be have been better entertained. If the kids aren’t outside with their friends they are wanting to be on one of the computers or the Wii. Sarah has discovered the lure of the Wii and wants to play too now. She is improving at bowling, getting spares every once in a while., but most other games are still too hard for her though she doesn’t seem to care. I have to remind the older kids that it doesn’t matter how badly she does and to just let her try to do it by herself. Bryce has a really hard time with that as he can’t stand watching other people mess up LOL Mark is out hiking up and down Barr trail several times a week.

I’ve spent a lot of time designing, and most of that work I can’t show off yet since it is either unfinished or part of team collabs that aren’t ready for release. Here’s the main thing I worked on. I’ve been wanting to make a kit to go with the blue background with the stars all over it- that is part of the WWII memorial wall behind the reflecting pool at the monument. I’m quite happy with how the paper that has the Declaration of Independence on it came out, made from a souvenir reproduction I picked up on our vacation last year.

http://www.scrapdish.com/store/product.php?productid=3842&cat=0&page=1

and I did a few layouts somewhere in all of that above!

journaling: Kristen hosted her July 4th potluck again this year. It’s something we all look forward to- getting together to celebrate the 4th, eat lots of good food and enjoy company with friends we might not have seen in a while.
credits: Boom! Mini Kit by Holly McCaig at 2peasinabucket.com; Layered Up In You Scallops by Lauren Grier at SweetShoppeDesigns; fonts: Dirty Ego, CK Becky

journaling:   The military bases in town invited the public to their July 4th celebrations this year as the city had decided there was not enough money in the budget to hold the traditional celebration in Memorial Park. The Air Force Academy was planning to hold their party on the 4th, but as the weather was predicted to be rainy that evening we chose to attend the one held at Fort Carson on July 3. The Colorado Springs Philharmonic played, fireworks were exploded and all of the usual festival entertainments were present- it was just a different location. To me it doesn’t really matter the exact date or location, but the spirit in which you celebrate the event.
credits: from scrapbookgraphics.com: Template by Jen Caputo from Impressions of Mother Earth; Nightfall (blue paper), Mystery (blue frame wrap), and Blaze by Flergs; Dark Papers by ON Designs; Newsworthy Alpha by Birgit Kerr; Messy Glitter Sprays (retired) by Micheline Martin; gold stars from Stars & Stripes by Melinda Staley at scrapdish.com; flag from Freedom Trinkets by Shabby Miss Jenn at shabbymissjenndesigns.com; fonts: Bookman Old Style

  credits: Day at the Zoo by Phuong at scrapboographics; Studio Play Day freebie template by Hillary Heidleberg at scrapbookgraphics; fonts: Cezanne, Typewriter

journaling: One of the kids’ favorite things to do when visiting Grandmama was to take Rusty for a walk around the block. It was a good way to wear him out and after three circuits of the block this afternoon he was ready for us to go home so he could take his afternoon nap!
credits: Poo-Chi by Jessica Bolton at funkyplaygrounddesigns.com; Stepping Stones Template by Melinda Staley at scrapdish.com (coming soon); Doggie Bag templates by Kristi Westling at InspirationLane.com; fonts: Arial Narrow

journaling: Things are just too quiet at Grandmama’s house now that you aren’t there, Rusty. We knew you for such a short time. I know there are good reasons for why it was best for you to go to a new home. I think it takes more strength to do what you know is right, even when you don’t like it much, than to just go on. Grandmama is keeping in touch with your new family and making sure that you are adapting well. Maybe we will even get to see you again, though you might not remember us. We will remember you though and cherish the memories of your excitement to see us whenever we came through the door.
credits: Poo-Chi by Jessica Bolton at funkyplaygrounddesigns.com
fonts: CK June Bug Louise

Catching Up with Layouts

I’m sitting at a Burger King while the kids enjoy the games and play area here for a while. I keep forgetting that this new computer came with Windows Live Writer and I don’t have to be on-line to work on blog posts!

This last week went by pretty quickly with the usual busyness. Bryce’s report on computers for language arts is done, and his toothpick bridge science project is completed too. Beth’s experiment is underway, and we need to give Carissa’s a try to make sure we will have a little time to do some tweaking if it doesn’t work the first time. Next week the elementary school kids only have 3 days of school for some reason. I can’t figure out why they do the schedule the way the do a lot of the time. I don’t remember having so many days off when I was a kid. Dance classes are going and the teachers are getting the recital pieces polished up as we only have a few weeks left now.

I’ve been meaning all week to get this post written, and so here it is- nothing fancy, just catching up with getting my latest layouts posted.

One of the signs spring is coming is when the fresh strawberries start arriving in the grocery store. We love to eat them fresh!
credits: Victorian Strawberry by Flergs and Kaye Winiecki at scrapbookgraphics.com; Maya's Personal Stash- The Ultimate Staple Collection by Maya at scrapbookgraphics.com; Vellum Date Dots by Ellie Lash at scrapbookgraphics.com; P52 Week 15 template by Tracy Blankenship at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; fonts: FO Messy Bessy

journaling: All the years I played in the orchestra at church growing up, I never imagined that I would someday be playing for Christian music stars like Steve Green and Michael Card. The best thing about these experiences has been feeling the wonderful sense of worship these men bring to the concerts. They aren’t there to increase their fame and fortune, but to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and to worship and praise Him through their music. it is humbling to be a part of such a mighty worship experience.
credits: Wishing 4 Sunshine Papers, Vintage Labels, Apothecary Journals, Office Dates, and Defined Stamps by Holly McCaig at 2Peasinabucket; Paperborders Volume 9- Music and Sing A Song Alpha by Birgit Kerr at scrapbookgraphics; Date Stamps by Amber Clegg at scrapartist; P52 Week 14 Template by Tracy Blankenship at funkyplaygrounddesigns; fonts: SP Wonderful Wendy, Susie's Hand

The individual pictures of the kids during the Easter portrait session.
credits:Tropicana and For Mellisa (B&W alpha and circles) by Flergs at scrapbookgraphics.com; The Daily Digi Template 5 by Janet Phillips; fonts: snowshoe

The girls literally singing and dancing in the snow/rain last week.
credits: by Dianne Rigdon at scrapartist: Rainy Days Collection- solids, papers, art bits, flowers, bling, and journals frames and mats; Notables Stacks and Frames; Shabby Love Alpha x2 - Black and Cream
Alphapalooza Random Bits1 by Corina Nielsen at funkyplaygrounddesigns; fonts: FO Doodle Dance

journaling: Carissa and Beth have become good friends with Alyssa this year. She lives just a few blocks from us and they often walk to and from school together as well as just hang out together at our house.
credits: Girlfriends- Paperie 2 and Elements by Holly McCaig at 2Peasinabucket.com; Press Plate No. 15 by Paislee Press for PencilLines blog (PencilLines #130) ; fonts: CK June Bug Louise, Gigi

journaling: Beth chose to work with plants for her 5th grade science project. She will be exploring the effects of rooting hormone on geranium leaf cuttings.
credits: Grandma's Garden by Shabby Miss Jenn at scrapbookgraphics; Eye Love You Year Round and Eye Love you Labeled by Berna Datema at scrapbookgraphics; Layered Up in You- Scallops by Lauren Grier at SweetShoppeDesigns;
fonts: FO Weathered and FO Journal Away

journaling: Brenna drew this picture of her and Sarah at school during free-time.
credits: Sparkly Delight and Crumpled Paper Borders Vol 4- Family by Birgit Kerr at scrapbookgraphics; scalloped mat from Drafts & Blueprints Bundle 2 by Tangie Baxter and DeCrow Designs at scrapbookgraphics; Matties Curlers by Corina Nielsen at funkyplaygrouddesigns; fonts: CK Becky

 

A compilation of P365 photos from February to April. This template, made by a fellow SBG crew-mate comes with an awesome action that resizes all of your pictures and puts them in the correct spot.

credits: Angel's World by Line Designs at scrapbookgraphics.com; Heart Template/Action by Arisu at TheDigiChick; fonts: CK Becky

 

and I did this LO last week for the Digi-dares #130 challenge to scrap a layout with no photos and to use a silhouette or outline on your layout. One of those rare quirky ideas I get occasionally when I saw the challenge for the week and I had to go with it. I showed Brenna the LO and told her I made it for her since she still thinks that incident was so funny- she just laughed again, and that is what it is all about.

journaling: July 20, 2007 I took Brenna & baby Sarah to the zoo. Brenna had lots of fun feeding the Budgies seeds on a stick. As we were getting ready to leave, a green bird landed on top of my head, and I couldn’t get a picture because my camera was around my neck. Brenna has no problem reminding me of this time & still laughs about it almost 2 years later!
credits: all at scrapbookgraphics: Bunnies, Bees and the Birds' Big Balloon {A Spring Collection} and Flying Dreams Storybook Papers Collection by Lorie Davison, Crumpled Paper Borders & Templates- Vol10 Children by Birgit Kerr, Text Paths Collection 1 by Jen Caputo; Nikon camera photo found on internet
fonts: CK Becky, Baby Boston

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

Brrrr.... winter is on it's way

It was pretty darn cold here the last week and definitely feeling more like winter than fall most days. The winter and Christmas kits are hitting the digital shelves, so out come my winter and snow photos from last season.

credits: Jubilee, Manic Monday overlay (Create blog freebie),and Metal Date Tags by Holly McCaig at HollyMcCaigDesigns.com; Election Day Photo Overlay by Holly McCaig at PinkInkStudios; Square Matties by Corina Nielsen at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; Acryloholic by Traci Reed at SweetShoppeDesigns.com; Cookie Template by Cindy Schneider for SweetShoppeDesigns; fonts: TXT Santa Font

all of the next projects are done with a new kit by Saxon Holt and Tracey Monette at Scrapbook-Elements today- it's called Winter Frost.

credits: Winter Frost by Saxon Holt and Tracey Monette at Scrapbook-Elements; Acryl-O-Holic Alpha by Traci Reed at SweetShoppeDesigns; Worn Overlays 2 by Something Blue Studios at catscrap; fonts: TXT Annesia

and ATC- I haven't done one of these in a long time.

credits: Winter Frost by Saxon Holt and Tracey Monette at Scrapbook-Elements

and a set of hybrid Christmas ornaments that I designed for a little (or should I say big?) project for the Petite Tap ensemble to hand out to the attendees of their holiday dance programs. Myself and another mom and several of the girls from the group sat in the hall during most of the dress rehearsal last night and cut, glued, punched and stamped while lots of people stopped to ask what we were doing. We didn't get them all done, but we made pretty good progress. Renee and I will sit in the hall again Tuesday night during class and keep working on them.

and just because..... I found this photograph when I was looking through all of my winter pictures- a little 'flashback' to Halloween 2002. Can you believe how little Beth and Carissa look in this photo? and how little the tree and bushes in the front yard are? The pink coat that Carissa is wearing in this photo belongs to Sarah this year ;) We haven't had a good snowfall like that yet this year, but there were a few small flakes drifting in the air on Tuesday morning.

more Charleston Layouts

So, I'm bound and determined to get all of my Savannah trip photos scrapped- I have several vacation albums and none of them are complete. All of the ones I did this week are from the day we spent in Charleston.
journaling: After arriving in Charleston and finding a hotel room for the night, we drove out to Sullivan’s Island and had a look around Fort Moultrie. It was closed by the time we got there, so we could only walk around the outside path and read the signs, but that was enough. The fort has undergone many renovations since construction began in 1776 to protect the entrance to Charleston Harbor from a British invasion in the anticipated war. Its first incarnation was a thick walled structure built of palmetto logs and sand. It was still incomplete when Commodore Sir Peter Parker and the British fleet attacked on June 28, 1776. After a nine hour battle, the British retreated and the colonists had won their first victory in the revolutionary war. The fort was named in honor of its commanding officer, Colonel William Moultrie. The South Carolina state flag commemorates this battle- the palmetto tree and moon represent the defeat of the British navy here during the first conflict of the Revolutionary war with the palmetto walled fort successfully defending the town.

Fort Moultrie was neglected, destroyed and built-up over the years as war loomed on the horizon. Four incarnations of the Fort have stood on this spot, each with more powerful weapons and defenses than were there before as weapons technology has advanced. Since the advent of nuclear weapons and guided missiles, the critical role of Fort Moultrie in the protection of Charleston Harbor has diminished and now the National Park Service has restored the Fort to represent the major periods of its history.
credits: Sweet Liberty by Dianne Rigdon; Moon from Dream Whispers by Jofia Devoe; palm trees from Sea Doodleys by Weeds & Wildflowers; font: Times New Roman

journaling: We learned lots of interesting things about Charleston during our carriage tour around the city. *“Earthquake washers” hold together many of the oldest houses because they couldn’t afford to rebuild after the revolutionary war. *The English colonists considered brick a poor-man’s building material, but there was no local stone so they put plaster over the brick and scored it to make it look like the buildings were built with stone. *Most houses are long and one room wide because of the practice of taxing homes on the width of the home facing the street in England. *One of Charleston's nicknames is the "holy city" because of it's high proportion of churches to it's population. Of course it is also known as the "city of decadence" for all of the other business types that abound in the city as well, and the churches often owned the properties of them because they paid their rents on time. *Bay street used to run along the edge of the bay, but the city has been practicing land reclamation for many years and the city has grown by several blocks into the bay over the years. *Broad Street was the diving line between the rich and not-so-rich neighborhoods of old Charleston with the most affluent living south of Broad, so in attempt to claim rank people would say that they lived ‘somewhat north of Broad’ which would be shortened to ‘snob.’
credits: Super Sassy Chic, Provence, Notables Alpha and Notables Tags by Dianne Rigdon; LO template 66 by Yin Designs (modified); staple by me; fonts: CK Constitution, CK Neat Print

and the first two layouts from all of the pictures I took at Magnolia Plantation.

credits: Amy K kit and metal dates by Holly McCaig; Cocktail Recipe 1 by Amy Hutchinson at After5Designs.com; Hot News No 5 by Lauren Reid at LittleDreamerDesigns; font: CK Journaling Condensed

credits: Sweet Abandon (some pieces recolored) by Dianne Rigdon; green sprig from Amy K by Holly McCaig; ribbon and leaf branch by Flergs; large leaf from Realistic Extras by Kim Broedlet; twine and staple by Melinda Staley from Scrapdish Basics Collab (coming soon); Colored Chrome action by Atomic Cupcake; font: Tiranti Solid LET

Savannah scrapbook pages

I've started the process of scrapbooking all of the photos I took. Here are the first pages I've completed so far.
I think this tree and moss picture has to be one of my absolute favorites. It was really unusual to see the ferns growing on the tree limb like that- I don't remember seeing that anywhere else. This tree was in Forsyth Park.

credits: by Kim Broedelet- lace and branching out 2; papers by me; fern fronds by Dana Frantz from Impressions of Comfort at scrapbookgraphics.com; font: Majestic

journaling: One of my favorite sights while walking around Savannah was the many different types of lamps in the parks, on the streets, and perched on houses next to their doors.From the giant lamp in Emmett Park that guided ships in and out of the harbor to the smallest house lamps, each spoke the words ‘welcome home’ to me.
credits: Impressions of Comfort by SBG designers; fonts: Bickley Script and TXT Romanesque

credits: Lemonade, Sketch #3, and Office Dates by Holly McCaig; Build-a-Bloom by Christina Renee; Grunge Photo Templates 1 by Tracy Rivera at SBB; font: Majestic

Cute Spooks from 2007

Holly has a couple of new things out at Inspiration-Lane this morning. Here's my LO with her halloween kit, Cute Spooks:

credits: Cute Spook and Random alpha by Holly McCaig at Inspiration-Lane; Ultimate Stitches- Not So Basic by Dani Mogstad; fonts: TXT Abrasive, Vinque

Brenna's first dance class photos

journaling: After waiting what seemed like forever to her, Brenna finally got to start her dance class. She would swing her hips so that her skirt would twirl around her when they weren't practicing something else.
credits: by Holly McCaig at Inspiration-Lane.com: Flowergirl papers, Doodle Months, Swirlys, vintage Alpha, numbers from Popular with Miss HuniBuni; Template 2 by Holly McCaig, Create blog gift; paper lace strip by Correen Silke; Paper flowers by Dani Mogstad; fonts: CK Becky

journaling: It is so hard to be the littlest one and not be old enough to participate in the things that your sisters are doing. Poor Sarah had to wait in the hall with Mama while Brenna went to her first dance class. She had a good time coloring Dora pages with the Color Wonder markers, but I know she would have preferred to be in the room dancing with the other girls.

credits: by Holly McCaig at Inspiration-Lane.com: Flowergirl papers, Swirlys, vintage Alpha, Pin dates; Template 1 by Holly McCaig, Create blog gift; Paper flowers by Dani Mogstad; fonts: CK Becky

and here are a few more of the photos that didn't make it onto the layouts

Balloons, a saloon, and a birthday

layouts that is :P
Here's the promised LO with the photo series of the "Heaven's Quilt" inflation and lift-off:

credits: Crumpled Solids and small frames by Nancy Comelab; Not So Basic Stitches by Dani Mogstad; glitter swirls and strands from Dusk to Dawn by Flergs at scrapbookgraphics.com; labels and pins from Specimen 1 by Karen Hunt at SBB; Paper Cuts alpha by Terri Martin for Digital Artist Magazine; fonts: Black Jack

and here's my favorite picture I got from the evening balloon glow last weekend. I used Holly McCaig's newest kit, "Fresh". Yep, another new CT! woot! I get to work with Holly's gorgeous digital goodies for the next three months. I may even have to see if I can mix in a bit of her digi-goodness with some of the Pink Paislee papers I couldn't stop myself from buying at Archiver's the other day. ;) (and man, what it cost me to check out with a few sheets of real scrapbook paper was certainly enough to remind me of a big reason I love digiscrapping!)

credits: Fresh by Holly McCaig at Inspiration Lane; Worn Photo Overlays by Something Blue Studios at Catscrap; Sassy Lace by Christina Renee; Lacey Trims by Corina Nielsen at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; fonts: Susie's Hand

Angela and Saxon asked me back to the re-activated SophiaSarducci CT last week, and I got this LO done for them today with the new kit "Dreaming of Texas." The saloon was in Nebraska, so I had to skimp on the actual TX parts of the kit, but it still works :P Now I have two whole days of our summer vacation completely scrapped- the first and the last. I wonder how long it will take me to get the other 14 days in between finished up?? LOL

journaling: We drove back into Ogallala for dinner at the Livery Barn Café and Crystal Palace Revue show. We ate dinner at the Livery Barn Cafe and strolled through the western museum in the Front Street buildings while we waited for the show to start. It was over an hour of songs and comedy- lots of fun that even Sarah enjoyed most of the time. I didn’t think that Sarah was paying attention to the show by the end, but she took away a line from the last song/skit that the singers did. She still says that line to us months later- “I go Mama, I go Daddy.” Ogallala, Nebraska -July 12,‘08
credits: Dreaming of Texas by SophiaSarducci.com; Worn Overlays by SomethingBlueStudios at Catscrap.com; Boho Cowgirl alpha by Retrodiva; fonts: BlackJack

All-righty- I'm off to see if I can get the Hannah Montana birthday party LO I started earlier today finished up before I completely wear out for the evening. Getting up before 7 to get all of the kids off to school has been sending me to bed early- well, early for me anyway ;)
and here it is, before I scoot off to bed:

journaling: We celebrated Beth and Carissa’s 10th birthday on August 22, 2008 with a slumber party at our house. Seven of their friends were able to come this year. We grilled and ate hamburgers, played games in the backyard, ate cake, opened presents, and painted plaster figurines of ponies and fish. Then, the girls watched the premiere of the Cheetah Girls 3 movie on the Disney channel before settling down for the night and getting a few hours of sleep.
Sarah proved that she knows just what to do with candles on a birthday cake- blowing them out before Beth and Carissa even had a chance to take a deep breath. We had to light them again so that the actual birthday girls could blow them out.
credits: Pop Rocks by Dani Mogstad at SweetShoppeDesigns; Original Photoclusters 1 and 3 and Original Photoframes- Large Frames by Nancy Comelab; fonts: Note This, 2Peas Hot chocolate, 2 Peas Dear Diary