Life is busy...

But I am enjoying it so much!! Productivity gives me a huge sense of satisfaction! I have a couple of things to share today. First is another sneak peek of my gallery. (NO it isn't the crazy monkey page...that one is still under construction right now.) I'm loving that glitter die cut star!
And as I was reading blogs today I came across this image HERE. I am totally loving this idea! Talk about going green and being eco-friendly. I bet I could walk downtown and find stacks of these pallets just waiting for a good home. They would even look good painted I think.

Hope you have an inspired night! Smiles!!

He's mastered the bus...

His only complaint is that it's hot on the bus. Just looking at this picture makes me laugh! His first day when he hopped off...he ran around the back of the bus, not knowing that he should go in front to be safe. (Which also made it impossible for his shutter-bug mom to snap a picture, because she was too busy making sure he didn't get hit by any cars.) But today he had it mastered and once he made it across the street I snapped this pose. LOL. I love the fact that he gets dropped off right in front of our street. (Instead of 2 blocks away like when I was a kid!)
AND I also had to share a little peek of our *almost* here September kit! I have been having fun working with this one. I think I'll have to get the bus picture above printed to make a layout! Even though I am planning to do a few school related things with it, this kit is very versatile. It definitely will work for other themes than just school. For example, I just put together a layout of us meeting a monkey named Coco in Mexico. (Maybe I'll have to show you a sneak peek of that one tomorrow.)
Not only does this kit have two yards of adorable ribbon, but it also comes with 2 very cool pieces of wire as well. Wait until you see what our design team created using them! Lexi posted sneak peeks on her blog today...check it out!
Hope you are having a super week! I'm off to make dinner!

Baby card...

Today I went to a friends baby shower...and so last night I made a little card to take along. The paper is AC, the frame sticker is K & Co. and the chipboard in the middle is KI Memories.

In other news...I am officially exhausted today. This new school schedule is proving harder to get used to than I thought. I am not a "napper" (as in I have taken maybe 2 naps this entire year) but this past week I have already taken a couple power naps just to make it through. Add to that the fact that Tanner is having a sleep-over with his BFF and they have succeeded in wearing me out with all of their silliness. I hope they sleep as good as me. They have had so much fun already...it's been worth it. I'm taking them all to church tomorrow so I will get a little taste of what it's like to have 3 kids to get out the door in the morning. Wish me luck!

Words to remember today...

I wish I knew who to credit these quotes to...but I have no idea who said them. I just like what they say. I am going to put these into practice today!

“A good idea today is better than a perfect idea tomorrow.“
“Don’t let best get in the way of better.“
“Done is better than perfect.“

The perfectionist in me thinks this is hard to do.

I am exhausted after this week! I'm so happy it's the weekend. (Even though we have a full weekend on schedule too! Why is it always like that?) I got a sweet little package in the mail yesterday from Lexi with a few (well more than a few) RVA goodies! I had been wanting a little transfer sticker to "personalize" my iPhone case. I'm weird like that. When I was a very little girl I remember I had a friend named Heidi, who also had blond hair. Only she had long hair and I had my signature "mushroom" cut as I liked to call it. It was a bob...or I think that's what they call it? (I promise this little childhood story has a point...really it does.) So even though I never really loved my hair short. I had it that way for my entire childhood...and the thing I liked the most about it was the fact that no one else had short hair like mine. I was weird like that even back then. I didn't like having anything that was the same as anyone else. As my sister was out buying matching clothes with her best friends...I was searching for anything that I hadn't seen on someone before! I guess I said all of that to say that when I got my iPhone like the rest of the masses...it just wouldn't do for it to be just plain. Here's the outcome!!
The hardest part was picking one! I finally decided the cupcake fit the best (Thank you, thank you Lexi...I love them all!)

I used my Martha Stewart bone folder to rub it on.
And the finished project! And it took me literally 5 minutes. Love that now NO ONE (at least no one I know) has the same old iPhone. Yippee. It's the little things people that make me happy. The tiniest little things.

Have a super Friday!!

Time flies!

Time sure does fly!! Tanner started kindergarten. Kindergarten people!! How is that even possible? I didn't cry, but I did get a little misty-eyed when I got home thinking about it. I am so proud of him, he is settling in there nicely. His teacher has already commented (on day 1) about his artistic abilities. She was amazed. I wasn't surprised. That's just Tanner, he is my little artist.

With the start of school around here...it's gotten pretty hectic, pretty quick. I still have the peanut at home with me for a few more weeks, because preschool doesn't start until after labor day. I think she is missing her bro. She has been helping me clean windows and pick weeds, and even though you would think she wouldn't like all of that, I think she likes to clean even more than I do! Hallelujah! And (just like her mom) she doesn't appreciate having to get up early to drop Tanner off at school. In fact I usually have to wake her up 15 minutes before we're walking out the door to throw on her clothes and comb her hair! Today, when we got home, she let me try on her entire wardrobe to see what still fits and what we need to get rid of. It was a big project because she has lots of hand-me-downs! I love organizing, and even though going through all of those cute size 3T clothes that are too small makes me sentimental...it sure does feel good to get rid of the clutter. It will definitely help as she starts school to find what we need in the morning. It also reminds me of what she has/needs for this fall, and saves me time and money because let's face it...if you haven't seen it in 4 months, you don't remember that it even exists. Here she is with her Windex...give her a spray bottle and she'll be happy for hours!

Now I just need to do the same thing and get organized in my scrapbook room. I work much better in an organized space...I am more creative in an organized space, and I am definitely more productive. I think my biggest problem is all of the projects that I have out at once. I'm heading in to tackle that this afternoon!! (Hoping if I say that here...it will actually make me do it! LOL) Have a great day!

Mid-Month Newsletter!

Freehand Scraps Newsletter (just in case you missed it in your inbox!)

Hello everyone! Time for another mid-month newsletter! There are new backpacks and school supplies filling the house…as my oldest has his first day of kindergarten tomorrow. It is definitely bittersweet. I sit here and think about where in the world the last 6 years went, but I guess the truth is I never thought either of my kids would ever be out of diapers! It’s times like these that I am so grateful for this wonderful hobby. All of the time that has flown past me for the last 6 years is carefully documented in my scrapbooks. The important milestones as well as the everyday occurrences that make up our story are there to look back on and cherish, which is a very good thing since it seems like I just blinked my eyes and my tiny infant is a big boy with half of his teeth missing!

Our August kit “Happy Go Lucky” is up for sale…in case you haven’t seen it, its darling! Check out all of the detailed photos and list of contents HERE. I thought I would share a few of the projects our wonderful design team whipped up with it.
This is a darling mini by Samantha Sibbet, and below is another made by Jen Jockish our guest designer this month!
And of course I can’t stand a mid-month newsletter without a small peak of what’s to come for September!! Eeek! I am so excited about this one ladies and gents. Stay tuned for the full reveal on September 1st at 8:00 a.m. CST. You won’t want to miss out on all of the newly released products from CHA packed into this one!

Ahhh...I've gone too far...I've shown too much!! LOL.
Hope you have a wonderful night!!

And everything is how it should be...

Sorry for my lack of blogging this past week! The kids returned from being with their dad for 3 weeks on Saturday and I had so many things that I wanted to get done before they returned, it kept me away for a few days. I wanted not just to have all of my errands run and all of my work done...but also the whole house cleaned till it was sparkling AND the yard mowed. Because let's face it, for the next week...all I'll want to do is hug them!! Upon their return, they came back both sick...Tanner has a double ear infection (Ouch! He cried tonight it was hurting so bad, and luckily we have the drops that help with the pain.) He is on day 2 of antibiotics and is covered in prayers! Hopefully he'll be okay to start school this week!! Poor thing. Divorce is SO unfair when there are little ones involved. Especially when they feel like they are put in the middle of things. They are exhausted physically and emotionally, but had lots of fun stories to tell me of all the things they got to do. I cannot tell you how good it is to have them home tucked into their beds sleeping soundly. And everything is how it should be...again finally. Hope this isn't TMI for all of you in blogland...it's just me sharing my life. YOU KNOW it will get turned into a page! LOL.

In other Freehand News...September's kit is coming together nicely! I am loving this one *so* much! I can't wait to share a sneak peek tomorrow. I am working on getting a newsletter out since it's the middle of the month! (Unbelievable! Where has this summer gone?) So be checking your inbox for that tomorrow...and as always I'll post it here as well.) Hope you had a fantastic weekend, and don't forget to hug someone today! (You know there will be hugging around the clock here at my house...and I will do my best to be super-mom to my two sick little ones.)