Mowing Monday...

Well, it's officially that time of year again, meaning SPRING. And if you know me, then you know that I have a big yard. I mean reaaaaallly big! Almost 7 acres big. So as you can imagine it takes me a very long time to keep it looking good. So last night my "mower man" came out and gave it a little tune up, namely it had a totally flat tire. So this afternoon (on a totally perfect 77 degree day) I went out and mowed until I ran out of gas and was forced to stop. I always wonder where in the world I am going to find the time to add all of the yard work into our busy lives, but somehow I always manage to fit it in. I love spring and summer...but I just really wish it didn't mean so much mowing. The silver lining is that it looks sooo pretty now.

Now onto more important/fun things. I still have one last layout from my gallery to share. My kids have a "thing" for Lone star. I don't know what it is...maybe the peanuts in a bucket? I think the food is just okay. Definitely not my favorite place to eat. But it seems it is the number one requested restaurant on their birthdays. And they always get to pick on their special day. Tanner always orders the same thing...chicken strips with french fries and ketchup. (He really makes a big deal about the ketchup to the waitress, even though it's sitting right next to him ON the table. LOL.) Chloe always orders macaroni and cheese and broccoli, she is so much like me! And I am blessed that they both like vegetables. I am noticing more and more that they are willing to try new things and are being less picky.
I trimmed the American Crafts paper and left a few random rectangles on the right hand border to give it a funky edge. And how cute is that American Crafts thickers alphabet?

I added a few other strips of paper underneath that to give it even more dimension. I typed my journaling with my typewriter, and hand cut a few hearts to add to the bottom corner to balance everything. It seemed the enlarged picture was seeming too heavy, and added a little strip of the Hambly stitches rub-ons! I love Hambly's rub-ons, they are a breeze to use!

But seriously...the best part of this page is this picture. Seriously. Pure JOY! This is why I scrapbook! Exactly why.

So please tell me I am not the only one who is having to mow grass! Anyone else?? Hope your week is off to a fantastic start! :)

Birthday Boy Bash...

I thought I would post a few pictures from T's birthday bash...if you follow my blog then you'll already know a few things from the start. He just HAD to invite every kid in his class (girls too...oy vey) plus a handful of kids from church and his teachers also. I needed to pull something together on a tight budget so I started by making some invites. They were definitely not what I had envisioned, but they still worked!
I used toy robots that Tanner plays with all the time for the table decorations. The big one was a find of my Mom's that she found on clearance at Target. For the table top I used the kids roll of white easel paper from IKEA cut to size and added wall decals (again on clearance from Target - thanks Mom!) It just happened to match the party napkins exactly!
Party favors were just bubbles that I wanted to make look like robots...so I added googly eyes and a curly ribbon to it's neck. These were a hit!
The day before the party my friend Amanda sent me these robot die cuts in the mail. (They were made using her Slice! It's almost enough to make me want one of those bad boys!) She saved the day...literally! Aren't they cute? I just used a glue dot to adhere them to a toothpick and they were done!
I had a lot of willing "helpers" and especially this sweet boy. His friend Jacob brought him the birthday crown. AND did you see that cute robot shirt he's wearing?? My Mom, once again is a genius! She came up with this guy peeking out of his pocket and Tanner loved it! It even washed perfectly. So cute! I looked everywhere for a robot shirt online and nothing was half as cute as this!

I hung some of the robot die cuts from the chandelier...these ones were a little larger than the ones I used on the cupcakes. (Thanks again Amanda!! They were perfect!)

There were robot crafts and lots of musical chairs which was CRAZY! Having 20 or so chairs in the middle of the room! Here's my sweet niece Halle.

Tanner was the DJ for the musical chairs and loved it! He and all of the non-musical-chair players had a little dance party. It was so cute watching them all cut loose! They all are such good friends!

And these next few might be my favorite pictures of the day. This was the last gift that he opened this day. It was from his little sister. She was just lit up like a light bulb waiting to see his reaction. (She had wrapped up a drawing of the two of them.) He lit up like a light bulb when he saw her sweet little drawing. Seriously, their bond just gets me every single time.

See what I mean? These two are my world...one of my greatest responsibilities...definitely my greatest joys.

I should have taken more photos (as always) but I was too busy making sure everything ran smoothly. It was a little stressful but a whole lot of fun! Yea for birthdays!

Happy Friday!

SO...I took the kids on an adventure today. I didn't tell them where I was taking them. I just told them that "adventure was awaiting!" Tanner guessed when we were almost there. He knew it had to be some kind of a zoo. This was a park that we have never been to before just outside of the city filled with native Illinois animals. It was kind of like going on a hike through the woods and all of the sudden there would be an animal enclosure. It was very laid back and the kids were in charge of navigating with the map.

My absolute favorites were the bears. They looked so cuddly, and were very entertaining to watch.

I'm noticing a lot of my pictures are starting to look a lot like this next one. The kids running up ahead of me and I am stuck carrying everyones jackets, water bottles, snacks, and toys that always have to accompany us wherever we go. And you know, I don't mind a bit! It's a privilege to watch your kids spread their wings and explore this great big world of ours. I'm happy to capture those memories...even if all I get is shots of the back of their heads!

Apparently every girl in a pink tutu needs a elk as a photo prop. Oh and yes, we DID play in the tee pee in the background...and we all 3 wished we had one in our back yard too!

Hope you found some adventure today! Cherish those you love...and make some fun memories together, it'll be fun to scrapbook it later! :)

Spring Break!

So it's been spring break around here this week. We have been soaking up the sunshine and watching the colors of spring unfold like a great big present. A long, much anticipated gift! We haven't done too much this week and have been at the dentist office everyday this week! (How did that happen?) But since the office is downtown...I did do a little photo shoot of the kids on this beautiful day! (I'll share pic's at the end of this post.) But first a few more projects from my gallery...this photo is from 2007. That's just how I roll...I scrap whatever I have laying around that's inspiring me at the moment. I thought this "Hello" journaling spot was perfect for all the white space at the top of the photo. And that raindrop paper by MME...be still my heart. Love it!
I hand stitched the edge of the green cardstock and added some of the Hambly rub-ons also. The bird is lifted off the page just a bit with foam squares for just a bit of dimension.

This little envelope/photo holder I made to hold a few of Chloe's preschool photos. I LOVE this Crate Paper yellow dot paper...but you already know how I feel about polka dots. I trimmed the letters "A" and "T" from the "what to EAT" sheet included in the kit and added a little ribbon that I sewed on in a little ruffle. I just couldn't get enough of those Dear Lizzy crochet flowers!

Here you can see her photos tucked inside.

And now onto the kiddos photo shoot. This is SO Chloe! Always with a puppy in her arms with her sweet little angelic expression.

My Tanner boy...looking so grown up! Wearing the only pair of jeans he owns that do not have a hole in the knee. We spent this evening putting together a Bionicle that he got for his birthday. He is just seeming so grown up to me lately. The dental hygienist was quite taken with him. (This was the 2nd time she had seen him this week.) She told me that he had thanked her very kindly for "taking the time to do this for him." They both love the dentist. They must not be my children...I was very anti-dentist as a child...just ask my Mom. (Or NOT!) LOL!

They were most interested in chasing squirrels and picking me every dandelion that they could get their hands on. (By the way they made me take pictures of all of the squirrels that were around also...fair is fair after all.)

Hope you all had a beautiful day! Is it spring break for anyone else?? I'm thinking I need to plan an adventure to take the kids on this week...I have a few ideas brewing. Making memories is just so much fun!

Out like a lamb...

Isn't that how the saying goes...March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb? Well it most certainly went out like a lamb here! We have had temps in the mid 70's and even 80's for the last week or so. Nice! So very nice! I am in love with spring right now! Just thought I would stop in to share some of my gallery today. I worked a little outside of my usual "comfort zone" this month by making a layout with no photos. I know it's something other people do all the time...but this girl usually does this about once a year! I like to think that it's like a page from my journal, only waaay prettier. I also wanted to make an 8 x 11 page this month...just to step outside of my "normal" style. Here I used the Maya Road chipboard word inked with my turquoise ink pad and stitched around the edge of the page. I also divided the title and the journal entry with the Fancy Pants ribbon from the kit. That light bulb has to be one of my all-time favorite embellishments we have EVER had in a kit. You won't find it anywhere else!! :)

You may not be able to see from the photo...but the light bulb has clear acetate stitched over the top of the "filament" so that there aren't any wires poking your albums! My Mom is just Martha Stewart only way better! She came up with this idea.

And this is a little card to thank her for all she does for me! (Pretend you didn't see it here okay Mom?) Don't you love that turquoise Dear Lizzy crochet flower? So cute!

Did you all have a beautiful Easter weekend? The kids dad was in town so I was flying solo...but after having a house full of company last week, the peace and quiet was a welcomed change. I spent the entire day Saturday putting back together the house and I went through all of the kids toys and got rid of about half of them! Spring cleaning is in full effect around here. It's all good!

Newsletter!

Happy April everyone! I hope this newsletter finds you well. As I write this my lilac bush is blossoming and making the air smell exquisite, the birds are singing and everything seems to be bursting forth with new growth. It feels like it's not just a brand new day, but also a brand new season today. Spring is here and I am in love.
I am so very excited about our latest kit "Brilliant." Which just so happens to exactly embody its' name...it is brilliant for sure. I love the color combination of red and turquoise and yellow. You'll be getting 10 sheets of patterned paper and also coordinating cardstock, a full sheet of Hambly rub-ons that look like you sewed on your layouts using a real sewing machine, (how cool is that?) vintage finds, exclusive embellishments, and so much more! You won't want to miss out on this one! If you need a little inspiration head on over to the gallery to check out what our awesome team made this month using the kit. This layout is by Amanda Smith...I love the simplicity and that sweet little bird!

Thank you to each one of you for continued support of Freehand Scraps! Have a wonderful weekend!

Brilliant!

Yes, it's time again for another awesome kit! "Brilliant" made it's debut today...er...um yesterday. I guess posting this at 1:00 a.m. makes it technically April 2nd. No time for blogging earlier, we spent the day in Chicago at IKEA and a few other stops. I'll also be working on a newsletter this weekend to showcase some gallery work too!
I just loved this little red guy with his long legs. I liked him so much I couldn't decide right away which page he "belonged" on. :)
Bits and pieces.

Every kit comes with a vintage key. They are too much fun...all so very different!

Crochet flowers and exclusive handmade light bulbs...make this kit a winner. It's such a fun springy kit with so much included! You won't want to miss out on this one! :)

TGIF! Hope you have a great Friday!