It's My 44th Birthday!

{Me with my Grandfather and Aunt Robyn this week when we celebrated his 92nd and my 44th}

 Yeah, I know I shouldn't be shouting it from the rooftops. But it is all good, being 44 has its advantages. There are a lot of things that just don't make my priority list because I know better. I am okay with my stretch marks because wearing a bikini isn't as important as enjoying time with my delightful kids. I am comfortable in my life and what you see with me is what you get. Being authentic is more important to me than how people perceive me. I won't lie, steal or cheat to get ahead. Yes their are wrinkles on my face, but in all the right places; worry lines in my forehead because I have children I want the best for, crows feet on my eyes from genuine smiles and a few starting around my mouth from deep grins. My feet are trashed and not pedicure worthy from years in ski  boots, tennis shoes and even running a few marathons. Wouldn't trade pretty feet for all of those amazing experiences. I have been married to the same man for 23 years, he drives me crazy so I return the favor. He gets me and I get him. We aren't perfect, never will be nor do we want to be, perfect would be to boring for us. I am not super tidy but still functionally organized, not going to worry too much if my house is presentable because I know it isn't. But that doesn't matter, I want to have people around me who accept me for all of my warts, and I have plenty of them. The good news is that if you do that for me, I am there for you through thick and thin and loyal to the end. To arrive at this point relatively intact has been a really humbling process. I will be the first to admit when I am wrong and will do everything in my power to make something right when I have made mistakes. I haven't always been like this, but I really like who I am right now and hope to continue on the journey of becoming a better person everyday. Milestones like these are good to stop at for a minute and assess where you are and how you got there. So thanks for letting me do that today, and if you are looking for something more interesting to read, head over to the sweet Rachel Carlson's blog, she had a few guest bloggers this week, and while I was one of them, the others are far more interesting.

Anyway, off to finish the first day of 44 ;o)

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Easy Paper Rose!

Loving that Olivia line of paper so much! Isn't that little critter peeking out from behind the flowers the cutest?!!
I have the tutorial for how to make this flower over at the CLASS room, hopefully it inspires a few of you to play along in our blog parade next Monday!

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Basic Grey's Olivia and some Brads

No surprise that I have a crafting crush on Basic Grey products, pretty much everyone does. And every once in a while they have a line that makes me hear angels singing, and usually this line (or lines) is designed by my dear friend Celeste. I don't know if it is appropriate for me to mention my crafty girl crush on Celeste, so let's just keep that between us. And if she isn't amazing enough as a product designer, she is one of the coolest, kindest and most down to earth people that I have the privilege of calling friend (that will call me back, hmmm.) I'm not technically a stalker yet (but I am flirting with that line) and someday I am going to get her back out onto the tennis court so we can torture each other. Anyway, back to Basic Grey, this card is made from the Olivia product line and was really quick and easy! And to kick up the texture, I added tiny brads to the pattern of the paper, love it! More details can be seen about this card at the CLASS room blog if you are interested. And don't forget Olivia's darling twin, designed with the boys of all ages in your life, Oliver! (So adorable and super usable!)
Also if you head over to the CLASS room, be sure to check out the details for Ellen's first ever blog parade! All the information is in the same post that I linked for the card, so you don't have to stray far to find out more.
Carter's 15th birthday is tomorrow, so we are going to do something special for him, and Chloe finished her University of Utah Chemistry 1060 class with an "A" today!!! Not bad for a cute girl who is going to be a senior in high school this fall! Needless to say, we are so proud of her and all the hard work she put into that class this summer, YAY Chloe!!!
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Card Style Love!

Paper Crafts has released a new special issue called Card Style that I was fortunate to contribute a few projects to. Most of them were in the Shabby & Vintage section, and I thought it would be fun to share one of them with you! This style is so fun to make, each of the layers adds something visually stunning and makes for a large serving of eye candy!

I have already read through this issue twice and have referred to it a couple of times as well. The way it is organized and designed is incredible, and makes finding inspiration a snap! I am hoping that this becomes a yearly release for them, wouldn't that be fantastic?

Looking at a busy week, but kind of sad that I am not getting ready to go to CHA in Chicago. I can't wait to hear about and see all of the new product that is going to be released!

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Supplies for card: Webster's Pages Vellum note cards, October Afternoon, Maya Road, Zva crystals and flowers. Most of this can be found at Ellen's shop!

Enjoy the Ride

Last week Cornish Heritage Farms announced that they have decided to shift gears and get out of the rubber stamp business and jump with both feet into the farming business. With this news, Ellen Hutson has put all of the CHF stamps on sale for 40% off! The selection is getting slimmer, but there are still some great finds there! I made this little card as a tribute to my time working with Richard and Liz and all of the fantastic Creative Chicks that I got to meet from this wonderful experience. I took the time to Enjoy the Ride, and I hope that you find the time to do the same!

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For this project I used Cosmo Cricket's Joy Ride mini deck, Jenni Bowlin note card, Ranger embossing ink and black detail embossing powder, and CHF GM Beach Party stamp. All of which can be found in Ellen's shop!

My Other Obsession

I have just a few things in my life that I am completely obsessed with. I don't think I am very high maintenance (my husband may not always agree with that assessment, lol!) and I don't get caught up in what the latest and greatest fashion trend is or who is going where and doing what. But when it comes to tennis and crafting, I am completely obsessed! If I am not on the court hitting the fuzz off the ball chances are I am in my studio making a creative mess, or vice versa.
So it only seemed fitting that I do a layout about the team that I went to districts with a few years ago, as the team that I am on this year has also made it to that level of competition. When you have a group of people who love something just as much as you do it is important to document the moments and treasure that time as it is very hard to come by! It is going to be a month of preparing for the competition that will occur in early August, with the winner from that tournament moving onto sectionals. Our team (along with the other five that we will be competing against) desperately wants to go on to the next level of play and it will take lots of cooperation, sacrifice, patience and lots of luck as well, to make that happen. I feel very lucky to have such fulfilling activities in my life, and appreciate how it all gives me perspective on what is important and what can fall to the side.
So if you don't mind wishing us a little luck, we sure could use it!!

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I forgot to share the layout I made for the trend post on "Frames" I had written two weeks ago for the CLASS room.
The Webster's Pages "Life's Portrait" papers are so beautiful and so on this trend it was a snap to make this project!

It was a pretty disappointing day on Wednesday, my sweet hairdresser had forgotten to write in my appointment and so she had over scheduled her day. We have a plan (and she promised that she has it written in ink!) for Monday afternoon for my cut. I am so grateful for all of your thoughts on this, and I am leaning toward keeping it short for at least the rest of the summer. She gives great advice, so it will be interesting to hear what she has to say about it as well. Really looking forward to celebrating the 4th of July!! We have plans to head to the farmer's market tomorrow with some fun friends and then Sunday evening we are hoping to be enjoying the finds from our adventure at the market. Of course there will be some fireworks in the evening on Sunday as well ;o)

I hope your celebrations are fun, safe and maybe hold a little adventure as well!!
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