Another Lazy Sunday

The pic of this is not so great, bummer dude! But that is how it is around here! Starting to get excited about the lazy days of summer arriving soon, so I started today even though I still have 21 left to go. It is hot with big fluffy clouds, and I wish we could go to the beach, reminded me of all of those fun pics I had from our trip to visit the family in Long Beach and San Clemente, so I put together a layout of Carter. Super fast one with the Fancy Pants paper doing all the heavy lifting. Stamped the distressed grid in sunset orange and then again with embossing ink and Ranger White Picket embossing powder to give a little texture. Some buttons, stitching and Doodlebug letter stickers and call it good.
What are your plans for the summer? Ready to start now? We have a few family things planned, but mostly it is the kids going their different directions for camps, retreats, and vacations from their mom...
;o)

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Just Bee-Cause!

I am so excited to be sharing a sneak peek with you, just Bee-Cause I can!!! This gorgeous stamp was designed by Julia, and it is the June Stamp of the Month, so it will be available on Monday!!

Of course it goes so perfectly with that gorgeous Porcelain product that my super sweet and UBER talented friend Celeste designed, this is a serious no brainer card, took twenty minutes to put it together, and that is because I had to have a little hand made silk flower and stitches in my buttons otherwise, 15 minutes easy!

And speaking of Celeste and her scary awesome talent, she has done it again! Her next line that is releasing for Basic Grey is called Lemonade, and can I just tell you that I will be forever hoarding it! All of the colors are so me, and the designs are delicious!!! And to top it all off, she has designed some of the most clever little favor boxes evah!!! That little bird is just begging to be filled with coconut flavored jelly bellies or dark chocolate M & M's!!

Have I mentioned recently how much I just love all of this crafty goodness, makes me so happy!

Hope you have a Bee-U-T-ful day!!!

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Shine Brightly

It has kind of been a little of a down day. Tyler emailed (he can email once a week most weeks) and let us know that he will not be able to receive mail for about 6 weeks at a time. This makes us very sad for him because we know that he has really enjoyed getting letters from us, but it is also sad for us because that means that he won't be able to send any either. We have really come to enjoy his almost weekly updates, he is an excellent writer and has done a great job of letting us know where he is and what he is doing. We feel so blessed that he is serving right now at a time when we can use the internet to stay in touch, not even ten years ago that would have been impossible and we would have had to just wait and worry! How this makes me appreciate how we can communicate instantly and give me such compassion for everyone who had to wait months to hear from their loved ones years ago when all they had was the post to communicate by. Those letters must have been very precious, this has given me a very acute appreciation for the days we live in.

I had a chance to make a card (thinking of Tyler, LOL!) with the new "Reach For the Stars" Rummage Bin set and "Astronomy" Scrapblock that Julia designed. This set is so beautiful and very different from the usual stamp art that you might see. And I am seriously in love with Ranger products, they are so easy to use and come in such great colors! For this project the Astronomy Scrapblock was stamped onto plain white paper with Distress embossing ink and then I used Super Fine detail embossing powder and then it was spritzed from a mini mister that had Broken China Distress ink, water and Blue Smoke Perfect Pearls in it. A quick wipe with a baby wipe (or paper towel) to reveal the embossed area and it was good to go. The words background is in Broken China and so is the Shine Brightly. The star was painted with Picket Fence White crackle paint, rubbed with Broken China ink and then some Perfect Pearls in the Blue Smoke were then brushed on. It is very mono-chromatic, but such a soothing combination that I couldn't bring myself to put any pops of color on it.

I have also been stalking my mailman because I am expecting a huge group of stamps from CHF!!!! Some new art lines that I am super excited about and one in particular that has me in a twist because I am so anxious! I can't wait to share more with you!!! Will be sure to share sneaks asap!

hmmmm, that is about it. If you don't mind keeping Tyler in your prayers it would sure be appreciated!

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Happy Memorial Day

Just a quick note to wish you all well today! Wanted to share the card that I put together for my dad. Not fancy, but he will appreciate it.
Please be sure to stop by the CHF Be Creative blog today and leave a comment, there is a give away, and we want as many people to have a chance to win as possible!

Be safe and take a minute to remember...

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Office/Studio now open for business

It took a couple of weeks, a lot of help from my husband, some serious sorting and pulling of products and organizing of space, but it is done now! I finally am working out of this space. Crafting is still a little harder as I have to think as to where everything is and then track it down, it all used to be in a grab and go semi-circle around the area I worked at. Not that way anymore as the computer had to take the center stage. I do like the way it is set up, will still probably do little shifts of things from here to there, but all in all it is visually appealing and very usable the way it is and that is what I need!
I have to tell you, getting a bunch of my most used stamps onto the Clip It Up was a huge help! I tried to get the whole 3 layers filled with them, but it was quite comical as it looked like the leaning tower of Pisa if I didn't have the weight distributed properly every time I even touched it. That lasted about 3 days. Now there are the embellishments that I reach for a lot and then a few baskets of stamps under the table joining the paper that is the most reached for. Originally I had wanted to not have anything under the tall table, but space is such a premium in that little work area that I had to compromise with myself a little. When the budget allows I will find some better looking storage. Buying super cute paper and embellishments is cheaper than shoes, and the dogs won't eat them. How is that for rationalization? LOL!
I also created a new watermark for all of my stuff that isn't using CHF. Kinda goofy and fun, I love it!
Well, I hope your Memorial Day celebrations are going well! It is rainy today and everything is green and beautiful, a perfect day to relax, create and spend time with my darling family. I have a card on the table I am working on for my dad as a thanks for serving in the Navy. Without the sacrifice of all our service people our country would be vastly different. I am very grateful for our liberties and the opportunity to pursue happiness, feel so blessed to be American!
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I do goofy things...

Often when someone asks me why I do something my answer if usually "Because I can". This is one of those things. Why did I make this? I don't have a cute little girl who would/could use it, but I just wanted to make something adorable and completely fun, so I did.

So often I have completely wacked ideas, and have to let some of them go because of time, energy or lack of supplies. But once in a while the stars align and my thoughts actually turn out the way I pictured them, that makes me so happy!

This was a Nestle Quik container, and it stills smells really good inside!! I loved the shape of it, so it seemed like the perfect object for alteration and re-using!

The process is called image transfer. I used a 12 x 12 sheet of Claudine Hellmuth's sticky back canvas and coated it with a layer of matte gel medium. Then the sheet of Basic Grey was layed over the top and brayered to make sure that there were no air bubbles to interupt the image. I let it dry for a day, got the back of the paper moist and then carefully peeled and scrubbed all of the paper pulp off with my fingers. A light coat of the gel medium covers all the little fuzzies that are left behind and make it a pretty resistant surface that can take a beating! The great thing about the sticky back canvas is that I didn't have to worry about what kind of adhesive to use to on the plastic surface of the container. I drilled some holes and put ribbon through, and now it is a cute little hand bag for a tough little lady that wants to carry all her precious little items with her! I will definitely be making more of this type of project from more of those containers, we love our chocolate milk here!

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Growing, Growing, Gone

The kids are just growing too fast now. It was just yesterday when they were in diapers, making messes and tag teaming us so we were poorly rested and completely out of sorts. Now with Tyler gone two months, and Laurel getting ready to graduate in two weeks, I am really feeling the squeeze that time is putting on me. I am feeling really lucky that she does want to go to school right here at the U, and live with us for a while. It doesn't feel so rushed that way, but I am reminded that I had better cherish every little second that she lets us have with her before she is gone. A few of the things I have tried really hard to do as a parent is to never wish away the time or take shortcuts with how we spend time together. I hope that it will make the difference in our relationship down the road, but for right now it just has to be good enough. As a parent of a teen, we are only allowed inside the hallowed halls of their heads once in a great while, so I try to use those opportunities wisely. All I know is that I couldn't love them more, and as we get closer to having a half-way empty nest it seriously freaks me out!!!

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It was HOT today!!

HOT, HOT, HOT!!!

In other news, because it is that time of year, I spent a good part of the day driving kids hither and thither as they have events that need attending, good times!!! I also got a chance to get a little messy, but not enough got done because of the car time to have anything finished to share...

bummer.

So here is a card that went to the NY Stationary show with Clip It Up. It is a sneak peek of a new line that will be revealed on Friday! The paper is Graphic 45 Fashionista, I just love that blue, and Ranger inks.

Hope you were able to stay cool and get some playtime in! (whatever your play may be!) Going to get some tennis in this week too, and working on art for another project that I will get tell you more about very soon! (I want to share so bad, and not being able to is such torture!) I just love it when dreams do come true though!!!

Heard from Tyler today, and he is almost fluent in Portuguese, he said that he has learned that when he doesn't know the word for something he just doesn't say anything. How crazy does that sound coming from the mind of a 19 year old boy? Wacked!!!! He really is maturing so much, and I think that we won't have a kid come home, but an exceptional young man. Just love and miss him so much!

Hope you have a great week!

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What a week!

It flew by, nothing really important or huge went on, it just flew! I ended up playing a lot of tennis which is quite unusual for me right now with how my life is, but it was great to get outside, moving and changing things up! That also means that with my studio/office being worked on and me needing to do my job that not a lot of creative juice got flowing. I made up for that by going to Kim's last night and I made 4 layouts! One still has a lot to do on it, but the others just need a little journaling and they are done! Felt so good! It was weird to not make any cards, but there is always time for that...

;o)

This little card was one that I made a while ago, but never shared. It just went into a box that we sent to Tyler that had sour gummy worms and his favorite messenger bag. Shipping to Brazil is quite expensive, it cost about $45 to send a priority box that is $8 here. It was a great reminder for me of how I take some things for granted as a citizen of this great country.

I am off to play some more tennis. I know, crazy right? And then more organizing and maybe some crafting today! That would make me very happy! It is a gorgeous day here today, so whatever it brings, it is all good!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!!

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Happy Monday!!!

Oh I had a surprising Mother's Day! My dear husband has creatively put together a get away for just the two of us using his airline miles and chewing gum, LOL! It is going to be a seriously shoe string budget trip as we are the parents of multiple teens and one that is soon to be graduated from high school and moving on to college at the U of U. I am so excited, he found a way for us to get to Jamaica where we originally honeymooned, and he scheduled it over our anniversary in June, so romantic and incredibly thoughtful. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I figured it all out!

Card is a little Graphic 45 Fashionista and the sentiment is from the "Friend Expressions" fussy cut and and use foam squares to give it pop.

Hope you all have wonderful week!
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Happy Mother's Day eve

I won't be posting tomorrow, will be with my mom giving her a hard time about having four rotten kids, LOL! I hope my kids stick around and do the same thing for me!

Laurel is going to her prom tonight, it will be fun to get more pictures of her with her date. Last one was not as formal for her because of the circumstances, but this one is her Senior Prom at Skyline, and she is a little more serious about it this time.

Sharing another layout I made last weekend for NSD. One of my morning shopping deals from Heartland was a few sheets of Webster's Pages, so delish! Since it was so fantastic all by itself, I just stamped a little mat from CHF's Spanish Script backgrounder, stitched around it and slapped that picture of Laurel on it. The flowers were super easy, just gather scalloped ribbon onto some embroidery floss and pull tight. Glue one of those gorgeous Jenni Bowlin buttons into the center and voila, easy peasy matching flowers! The journaling bit is from the Ornamental Beauty set and was embossed with Ranger Antiquities in Rust, looks even cooler IRL. The name of the paper became the title, it was just too perfect (and too easy!) This layout seriously took less than an hour to do, gotta love that!

Anyway, more prom pics to come, and I got a HUGE box of new Ranger goodness that needs tons of love so you will have to put up with me gushing about that as well, LOL!
Hope you have a fantastic weekend, and hugs to your moms for making you, as your friend, I am seriously grateful!!!

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Prom Happiness

I made this last week when I was scrapping with Kim. It took me forever because of the stitching, but I do like how the it all came together, the green looks so fresh on the yellow. It really lets the flowers Michael gave Chloe steal the show! I used the Fiery Floral Scrapblock with Peach Bellini Adirondack for the frames. Some Prima flowers and Maya Road sheer journal bits. Now if only it hadn't take two hours to stitch by hand, LOL!

I also want to share a quick picture of the Bad Babies out playing together in the backyard with one of their pieces of rope. They love the game of tug of war, and anything that is wider than two inches will have two sets of teeth on it trying to get it away from the other. They are so cute with each other, playing hard and resting well. We love them so much, and Tyler misses them tons, asks about them in every note he writes.

Been working this week on new art with the team. I am very excited that a project we have been working on for a new product line that I will be contributing to will be releasing in June, so happy! Loads more on that in the near future...

Hope you have a Happy Friday!

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A FAB Weekend!

This past Saturday was National Scrapbook Day, one of my favorite holidays, LOL!
I went to Kim's house on Friday evening and we scrapped for a few hours and then we packed it all up and moved the party to my house. We got up super early and went to Heartland first thing, with a 30% off everything for only two hours, we had to go make a dent! Then on to Paper Creations and Roberts to finish up the shopping spree! Roxanne and Julie joined us and we spent the late afternoon and evening cropping more and have loads of giggles, the perfect way to finish up the day!
I have been working on cards for "Clip It Up" to take to the New York Stationary Show, they need to be labeled, but there are some super cute ones! It has been fun to make a bunch of stuff that isn't for pub work and stamp release time.

And here is a little project that is one of those just because cards! I loved this little Imaginesce fox from the twitterpated line. I think my mom is going to love getting it, and she is so super cute, she really is a foxy momma!

Anyway, have a happy Monday!!!
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