So close...

It's so close to being time to introduce you to our July kit "Hula Hoop." And let me just tell you I can hardly contain my excitement! Until then, I will tease you with more sneak peeks!! That's fair right? :)

Check out Holly's blog for more!

And Lexi's blog for more!
And even more on Samantha's blog.

And still more on Amanda's blog.

And even MORE on Jaime's blog.

Isn't our design team the best! I have to give a huge shout out to all of them for their beautiful work! Now if you don't want to come back tomorrow to pick one up for yourself, well then I don't know what else would convince you! Be back here first thing at 8:00 a.m. CST to get one!

Very...

It's going to be a very good weekend! Here's another little peek of July's kit! Everyone will be getting a word spelled with Scrabble letters. Each one will be different. Love it!
Pretties!
Hope you are having a VERY good day! :)

Finally Friday...

We had a day at home today...which was much needed if you ask me...and only just now the kids are asking me why we didn't go anywhere today. We have been so busy! Therefore I had lots to catch up on around the house today and love having a clean and organized house...even if it only lasts for 3.2 seconds.

I am planning a scrap session tonight in my studio. It's time once the kids hit the hay to get busy...currently you cannot see the surface of my desk which means I may need to do some organizing in there also! LOL! I wish I could have all of you over for some crop time. I know there are people who don't like to scrap with a group of people, but I sure do! A few of my favorite things are scrapping and talking. Here is another sneak peek from my gallery! This particular paper is from the Girls Paperie line, and I love it!
Well I'm off to have a mini school session with the kids. (And I'm going to try to figure out a way to make it fun!) This should be fun. Have a terrific weekend!

Did I mention...

Did I mention that July's kit has THREE alphabets?? It's a beautiful thing! I have more sneaks to post tomorrow!
This week I took the kids to the Children's Museum...and I think these silly mirror were one of their favorite things. They laughed hysterically at their reflections as they danced in front of them and made goofy faces. It was hilarious!
Chloe was fascinated by this exhibit and stood here forever! It was a chain-reaction sort of thing with little balls that made the cymbals crash and the bells ring inside and it was really cool.

But they both looooved the water table. It was more like a waterfall/spring/pond type of water table, but played here for at least an hour total.

Have you ever seen one of these? I don't even know what these are called...but they are fun. Here is where Tanner stuck his face and body...

And this is what it looked like on the other side! Too funny!

Hope you all had a wonderful day!

Sharing...

I finally get to share the present I made for my Dad for Father's Day...and this sneak peek from our DT member Jaime Warren! (She has more on her blog!)
Here is the shadow box frame I cam up with for Father's Day. It has door that opens from the front with hinges so that you don't have to do anything from the back of the frame which was awesome. The background is a linen fabric...and the best part is that this only cost around $14 at Walmart of all places. Yes Walmart.
Up close details...the ribbon and pins here are from our November 2009 kit...the Bingo card is actually old, not just made to look old. :)

These photos are really special because my Dad is always giving the kids "zerbits" that's what my family calls them anyway. I don't even really know how one would spell that so I made it up. These photos are from his most recent trip here and they were all giving each other zerbits and laughing hysterically. Every time I see their expressions in these pictures it makes me laugh so hard! They aren't glamour shots, that's for sure, but they are the exact memories that I want to keep. The best of times.

You can kind of see how the frame opens in this shot, it has a magnet closure.

Hope you're having a great week! Please tell me we aren't the only family who gives "zerbits?"

Must have...

Central air. Must have...and I am not a "AC" kind of girl...I like the windows open and the fresh air. But when the heat index hits 100 degrees with the humidity, you must have it. I have 2 AC units at my house and one had needed to be repaired but it never got too bad because we had the second one. We woke up this morning and the second one was not working, so we had the repairman out working on it. I'll just summarize the situation by saying...you can make a lot of money in that profession. I'm just sayin'!

Here is a little something that is making me happy today...you can find them at Target in their seasonal section. $3 of bliss. I am currently trying to decide where they belong.
Here's a sneak peek of what I accomplished cropping last night. Those glitter buttons rock! You are going to love July's kit!
Here is Chloe practicing her picture taking skills with my phone. LOL! I kind of like the blur...I have less wrinkles that way. :)

And last but not least...I really think I must have a dress with this double collar. This one is from Ruche, but it would be fun (and way cheaper) to try and make it myself...what do you think Mom? (FYI: I would never attempt such a thing without my sewing genius of a mother.)

Happy Saturday!

currently:

watching: So You Think You Can Dance
listening: to Ian Axel (this cute video)
eating: pretzel m&m's
drinking: water but I really want a limeade
wearing: a sundress
feeling: content but with lots on my mind
weather: 90 degrees with lots of humidity (is it weird that I like it?)
wanting: a pedicure
needing: to sweep the floors
thinking: about wishing I could be with my dad on Father's day
enjoying: browsing the bookstore today without the kids in tow
planning: for a crop

I made my Dad a gift for Father's Day this year. I hope he likes it! I really hope he likes it...and since he reads my blog, I can only show you peeks of it here.

Have a great night!

Sneak Peek!

As promised I'm back today with a sneak peek of July's kit! Oh my...I told you it was turning out to be an all-time favorite! It's full of summery colors and embellishments that you will love! Now if I could just show you the whole thing...I would be a happy camper!
There are 10 patterned papers total by The Girls Paperie, October Afternoon, Fancy Pants, and Cosmo Cricket.
The paper below with the girls swim suits on it is also reversible with the other side having boys swim trunks on it. They have already done the work for us and made it so easy to use!

I think I may just *have* to make something for my house with this kit...it's just such great colors! What do you think?

So...

Why is it that summer always seems to be busier than when the kids are in school? June has been non-stop so far! I am getting ready to show a sneak peek of July's kit tomorrow...by the way it's shaping up to be my all-time favorite kit! For now, here is a guitar case that I would like to put on my *wish* list. Isn't it dreamy? I have 2 black ones that are just plain ugly.

(found here)

See ya tomorrow!

The agenda...

There are weeds in the yard that are calling my name to come and take care of. There are errands to run...which isn't so bad because one stop will be the fabric store...and kids that are "bored" in true summer fashion. I have heard and read lately on blogs and in email about people facing trials, and just being "real." Honestly, it's got me thinking of the reality that life is hard. It's full of twists and turns, and highs and lows, and it's not always something fun. I hope that I have portrayed HOPE here on my blog and a positive outlook, but trust me, my personal life is a mess, I have faced more trials and struggles this spring than I have in a while. There were big decisions to be made...the kind that you want someone else to make for you...but in the end you are responsible for. There were situations that broke my heart in two, that broke my heart for my children. There were battles that were fought...and lines that were drawn, in the hardest of situations. I am always amazed at how people who you think legitimately love and care for you can throw you under the bus and trample on any respect that you once had for them. There were triumphs and joys and laughter...lots and lots of laughter. But in the end...we are still here. When you lay your head on your pillow at night and think that the dawn will never break because you are surrounded by so much darkness, and yet it does. And not only is it another day...but it's one full of possibilities! I love that I don't have to have all of the answers, but just rely on the grace of God and his forgiveness and mercy to pull me through. He really is BIG enough. And as I sit here and dwell on my problems...it only gives them more power in my life. So instead I choose to focus on the solution to them. And I think of all of the people out there who are facing much bigger struggles than I am. And I pray for them, and remind myself to stop and be thankful. I have so much to be grateful for. Every day I am surrounded by the laughter of my children. (In fact that is what is ringing through the halls of my house right this very minute. :) I have health. I have more love in my life today than EVER. Just a reminder to myself. I'm adding it to my agenda...BE GRATEFUL FOR THIS DAY.

Oh, and I'm also thankful for happy photos of yellow doors and green refrigerators.

Images found HERE.

Happy Saturday! Thanks for letting me ramble here. It's therapeutic!

Pretties...

Jaime Warren sent her gallery over to me and it's just sooo cute I'm glad I finally had a chance to share it here! Here she used that great flocked Fancy Pants transparency to border her layout. I think my favorite part of this one is the lacy border that she punched at the bottom. It's so delicate and pretty. Of course Jaime's photography always shines bright on her layouts. It's perfect!


These sweet little frames look so cute with different patterned papers tucked behind them. The papers from this kit just all coordinated so well, without being too "matchy-matchy."

And this is a shot I took of the kiddos tonight after Vacation Bible School.
There were kids running around everywhere playing games and being loud...and I hear Tanner say to Chloe "Let's just sit here on this grass and enjoy this beautiful sunset." And he plopped right down and put his arm around her and I got one decent shot. This is what scrapbooking is all about for me. Capturing this precious moment...writing it down...documenting exactly who these two are today. This pose lasted for exactly 2 minutes and then they were off and running. I'll cherish this. How was your day?

More!

Hi everyone! Hope you had a great weekend! I wanted to share my last projects from the gallery today. I loved this flocked transparency! I snipped out a few of the shapes to layer over the American Crafts paper. I liked the look of it better than using the whole transparency which seemed to overwhelm the photos.
The 3 little rectangles are shapes from the Girls Paperie die cuts included...I layered a chipboard frame with the flocked bumble bee over the top. (The bee is raised up on a pop dot to adhere it just above the frame.)

Love the layered flowers by The Girls Paperie! I also used the ribbon included in the kit to put underneath the pink polka dotted frame here and then added my tiny type stickers over it to complete the title.
Here is a simple card. Pretty self explanatory. I loved the raw chipboard dress forms with this patterned paper...and usually I am more likely to paint it.

The inside of the card. Loved both sides of this patterned paper by Pebbles Inc.

And one more super simple card! Speaking of loving that yellow dots paper...here it is again. layered on top of a Girls Paperie die cut with a bright pink butterfly on top.

By the way...the fish is still alive...and it's bowl needs to be cleaned already. Oy vey! Hope you have a great night!

Carnivals, piglets, and goldfish...

I felt like this week was really the kick off to our summer. Every morning Tanner would wake up and ask me "Mom, are we going to have a fun day today?" Meaning I needed to come up with a schedule to entertain him. He is used to having a routine at school and wants to know what the plan is for the day. Unfortunately, lots of days include work and laundry and scrubbing floors, which is of no interest to him of course. So we have made a lot of trips in the evening to the swimming pool and we headed to The Cherry Festival to watch a concert that I had wanted to see. I had never been before to this festival, although I had seen it advertised in years past. It was a full fledged carnival with all the rides and funnel cakes you cared to have. This one was pretty special because it had a petting zoo for the kids...and to my kids that won me the "Mother of the Year" award. Tanner's favorites were the baby piglets, and Chloe loved the floppy-eared huge rabbit. I did love those sweet little pigs, but that baby calf just stole my heart. So cute!

They were hearding the sheep in this shot. :)

Isn't she just the sweetest?

Miss. Chloe lost her first tooth earlier in the day. She was SO excited!

She always insists on riding the carousel...and this time she picked Rudolf.

She wanted to play this carnival game where you could win a live goldfish...and to my shock (okay and HORROR) she won one. She has named it Chloe and is sure it's a girl. Oh my. I think I asked my friends on Facebook why animal rights activists aren't protesting at these carnivals, giving fish away to homes who own no fish food. I don't care about feeding it...but I am NOT looking forward to cleaning that bowl!!

We had a really fun night!

Carnivals really are magical when the sun goes down! Love these shots...and all taken with my iPhone since I didn't have my real camera with me! On the way home Tanner announced that "Yes...we did have a fun day." Mission accomplished! Hope you're all having a great weekend!