I'm Back!

(a little sneak peek of August's kit)
Well it was a whirl-wind of a weekend as expected...and I am exhausted! It was crop-until-you-drop Friday night and Saturday, and a movie squeezed in on Saturday night. I did a good job keeping myself pre-occupied, but I still missed the munchkins a lot! I called them to say goodnight a couple times, but tried to stay out of the way for the most part. I have to say, that I am proud of myself. It wasn't easy, but I did manage to enjoy some small parts of my break from the kids. One BIG thing was waking up in the morning with NO ONE else occupying my bed...I could get used to that! They usually both wander in just before the sun comes up, and it doesn't even wake me up anymore. I just wake up and they are always there. I did a lot of pounding nails into the walls late, late at night...really just because I could. Not because that was important. I walked around looking for projects that I had been wanting to do, and was very productive!

Now... if I could have only been so productive at the crop. I just wasn't in the creative "zone." I don't know if that makes sense. I was a little ADD it seemed, but I still thoroughly enjoyed myself. This little acrylic tag album is a sneak peek from our August kit. It's full of funkiness, and I had a great time working with it! (And YES the tag album is included in the kit!) I decided to make mine into a little book of my playlist. I think it will be funny to look back at it years from now, and see how much I've changed...and probably grown up a lot.

And one more funny thing Tanner said to me on Saturday night. He had been to the zoo earlier in the day and mentioned that he was "really in a heap of trouble" because he couldn't find his toy eel that his daddy bought him. At the end of our conversation I told him that I loved him and I would see him first thing in the morning at church. He responded by saying "Yeah...PBRS momma, love ya!" (Obviously he was trying to say P.S. I love you.) So cute, and I thought to myself that must be written down!

Hope you are having a great day!

Looking forward...

Well, it's going to be another whirl-wind of a weekend around here. The kids dad will be here to see them, so this will be the first time I have had a weekend with no kids in forever it seems. Most of the time this would be a welcomed break, but it is bittersweet. Just thinking about not being able to tuck them in at night, makes me feel all mushy inside. It's just that maternal instinct, when they aren't around it just doesn't feel "right." Like something (really someone) is missing. I have filled my schedule to it's max capacity to try and take my mind off of it, and to try to enjoy the small break. I am happy that they are seeing him, it's been months since he was here last. I know they will have a blast!

So I am attending a mini-retreat crop at my LSS on Friday and Saturday. Should be loads of fun, and it must have been meant to be, because I got the last spot on their registration. I have the Aug. kit and Sept. kit to play with and I am totally up for it. I am going solo, so it should be fun to meet some new ladies. I always seem to meet the nicest people at crops. We all have this fun hobby in common! I went to a crop once with a friend and it was late and we were all leaving and as the store was closing she said it would be one of her worst nightmares to get locked in and left behind. I laughed and told her that that would be my dream come true! Especially to a store that sells paper!! (Just thinking about how much I could accomplish is inspiring!) LOL.

Hope you take some time to create this weekend! Good night!

Goodness...

In cell phone news, when I went out to get the mail today my cell phone fell out of the mailbox and onto the ground. (Some mysterious stranger must have placed it there? Making me think it MUST have been in the yard somewhere?) I started to dance a little jig but my excitement went away when I went to plug it into the charger and it says that it's "unable to charge." We'll see, I haven't given up on it yet!

We have had lots of service people at the house today, plumbers were here to fix a leak, and the power company trimming trees around the power lines...so maybe it was one of them who found the elusive phone?

The plumbers had out their tools, a saw and some other things that Tanner thought were really cool. So he headed into his room and came out in his tool apron. (This apron was made by my mom for my big brother when we were little kids, so it is very vintage, and MOM he loves it!) It really is barely fitting him anymore.
So Chloe was feeling leftout and decided that she wanted an apron too. Never fear...because my mom has made several through the years for us when we were kids. So I got out my baking apron that she made for me, complete with a wire whisk and a handmade pot holder. It has my childhood nickname spelled out with iron-on letters. I actually seem to remember having quite a few nicknames, but this one is a classic. Now if only I had a picture of myself in it years ago to put next to Chloe's picture in it...that would be cool. Oh well, I'm just happy that my mom saved all that stuff that is SO meaningful to me now.




I can appreciate it more after all these years than I ever could as a kid! It brought back some fun memories today! Hope that you had some "goodness" in your day as well!

Poster Child...

I should be the poster child for how not to take care of your cell phone. Yes I have lost one AGAIN! This same one accidentally fell out of my pocket on the riding mower and I of course didn't realize it and mowed right over it. Shockingly it still functioned, it just looked a little rough on the outside. But Motorola phones are tough, and I have put them to the test! So the already mowed-over-once cell phone that I haven't even had for 3 months, had to be replaced yesterday and now I can just see myself finding it. Wouldn't that just be the worst? I had the option to buy a new phone or buy a used phone for half the retail price. When they are $300-$400 and I don't have a great track record, I opted for a slightly used one. The salesman tells me that the previous owner only had it for a week, but by the looks of it, this person may also have mowed over this one as well. Oh well, I got a better deal on it because of what he called "cosmetic damage." It looks better than my old one did. There was another guy in the store buying a new phone because he had jumped into a pond with it in his pocket. Maybe we both should be the poster children?

In Freehand Scraps news, if you ordered with us over the holiday weekend, your kits have shipped today! I am getting geared up for CHA mid-month and doing lots of in-advance shopping for the latest things that are coming out. So much fun! There are always lots of good surprises at the actual show, because some companies keep their releases top secret. Can't wait to share pictures with everyone of my favorites!

Have a great day! (And keep your eyes on your cell phone...lol!)

The 4th...

It was a great day! We started off watching a parade in a little nearby town. The kids loved it! They especially loved the horses in it...and I got some great video of Tanner dancing to the music they had playing. Later we had a bar-be-que at some friends house and then headed to the lake to watch fireworks and for the kids to feed the little fawns. All in all it was a very relaxing day, and I think I have mentioned before how much I really love the 4th of July. It's such a good reminder of how thankful we should be everyday to live in this great country. There is something about watching fireworks and communities coming together to celebrate that unifies and brings hope.

Sitting at the fireworks show watching Tanner wrap his arm around Chloe and tell her not to be afraid, my heart was soaring! It was a great day! So here's a few pictures from the day...(I only took 121!) But in my defense I did a little photo shoot of the kids too. I have 9 mosquito bites as evidence of my 15 minutes laying in the grass trying to get the perfect shot. Oh what we will do for the sake of this wonderful hobby.

The parade.
Some pictures of the kids I took in the back yard.
The 4th of July dress my mom made for Chloe (complete with rain boots...I think it adds a little something, don't you?) She was loving how "twirly" it was.

And last but not least the deer (these little ones were only 3 weeks old!) and the FIREWORKS!

Chloe was sure she would be afraid of the loud fireworks, but once Tanner put his arm around her and assured her everything would be fine and that they really weren't scary, she was fine.

It was the perfect end to a perfect day, and we all had big smiles on our faces. Gotta love that! Hope you all had a wonderful 4th! Have a great day!

Holiday fun...

We're gearing up for the big holiday around here. I just got a package in the mail from my mom...she handmade a 4th of July dress for Chloe! It is too cute. Of course she just "had" to try it on immediately. But I made her take it off and save it for tomorrow. I will for sure post pictures of her in all of her "glory" later. (Thanks mom, it's perfect!) My mom made a similar dress for me when I was a little girl and I was featured in the local newspaper in it. Makes me wish I was a better seamstress. I have limited abilities in the sewing department. I couldn't even imagine making a dress or a piece of clothing period. The only dress patterns I have around my house are for scrapbook pages. Hee hee. (Here's one waiting to be used.)


Yesterday I came across this really cool drawing & coloring book that I just had to have. (I do have kids right?) I think even if I didn't, I would have purchased it anyway. I might not even share it with them...but they will probably make me! Here are a couple of pages from it.

It says "color 36 cherries."
"Draw a sail on this boat."
"Draw tufts of grass."
"Color this with bright colors."
I love the art in this book, and it is such a great way to jump start creativity! It says right on the cover "Perfect for doodlers ages 3 to 99." yep that's me! I always admire "art journals" that people keep. But can't imagine having the time for something like that. AND trying to keep up with my scrapbooking! This is a pretty good alternative I think. It even tells you exactly what to draw. The fact that I can do it with my kids makes it even more appealing!

Hope you have a wonderful 4th of July!

"Flutter"

It's here...and it's for sale...and I have already shipped out a car-full today! So I guess the early bird gets the worm! I have gotten such great feedback on this kit, and I'm so happy to finally share it with you all!


Well it's been a crazy day! The kids had their last swimming lesson this morning, and now they are at VBS, and later tonight Tanner has another T-ball game. To top it all off, obviously Freehand Scraps is off to a crazy busy start. But I like to be busy, as long as it isn't all the time. I did treat myself to a pedicure yesterday afternoon. (I am embarassed to say that I haven't had one in over a year! I apologized to the girl who did it in advance about my heels...she laughed and reassured me she had definitely seen worse!) So now I feel like I could scale tall buildings and conquer the world with my pretty pink toenails! So refreshing! I honestly feel like I spoiled myself a little...which is something I don't do much. So in lieu of sharing a picture of my pink toenails, I thought I would share the card I made for my gallery.

I must give some credit to Katie, one of our new designers beginning in August. She had a layout on her blog with this hand-drawn border that I loved so I decided to try it. I thought it turned out cute!
The pink scallop that is framing the window, is hand-cut from the KI Memories flowered patterned paper. I cut out the pink flowers and used the petals as the edge. I LOVE that wood grain paper by Love, Elsie! Too cute!
Have a wOndErfuL day!