Monday, June 29, 2009

The Summer Stamp Star Design Challenge is on!


The gallery is open for uploads for the entire week. So color your little heart out on a few projects, and then pick your favorite to share!!!
I love to participate in challenges as well, and since I am not eligible to play in this one, I found one that Annabelle O'Malley had given over at InspireMe, the Webster's Pages community. The day had already been a blur of card making, so I thought why not make one for that challenge while I was at it? Trust me, after finishing 8 cards all with varying stamping techniques, I was ready for a quick card! The paper did all the heavy lifting, I just put some of that gorgeous Distress Crackle paint on the Maya Road bird and when it dried another light layer of Distress Stickles over the wing. A quick fussy cut on the leaves and some foam squares for some dimension and it was done! Thanks for the challenge Annabelle!
So my point is use the challenges as inspiration, then watch how fast it all comes together! Taking the question out of what to do next helps so much!!
Enjoy your week!!!
B-

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Card Creations 7 is da BOMB!!


I just got my copy in the mail today, and I have already thumbed through it a few times! It is organized in such a useful way, and there is loads of great inspiration and fun projects that are just flat out eye candy! The card that I had picked up for that didn't have any stamping, but I loved it just the same! It was such a goofy little card that I almost didn't submit it, but boy am I glad that I did! Growing up we had s'mores all the time, we camped alot as a family and every summer at girls camp they would have them there as a treat too! So when I saw this on the cut strip sheet, I knew it was a card that I would love to give and get! Isn't it funny the things that get you inspired?
So what inspires you?
And PLEASE don't forget to come and play in the Summer Stamp Star Design Challenge that CHF is hosting! I promise it will be loads of fun and very inspiring!
Hope you have a chance to nibble on a s'more or two this summer!
B-

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

It is a Wimbledon Wednesday!


I have been a little under the weather, a bit of a head cold has been plaguing me. A lot of sneezing, snurching and blowing has occured. The pile of tissues has been growing, LOL! But it has been easy convalescing because the Wimbledon tennis tournament is going strong and has been fantastic to watch.

I thought I would share another little paper piecing project. I used Kim's Little Guy set to stamp the cute frog prince with "Soot" Distress Ranger ink on My Mind's Eye paper, trimmed out and stamped again on one of MME's cute frames backed with a water colored piece of paper and the base of the card is stamped with the AlphaNumber backgrounder in "Lettuce" Ranger Adirondack ink.

Just a few more days until the Summer Stamp Star Design Challenge starts, I am so excited about this whole contest!! I hope that a few of you can find some time to play along!!
B-

Sunday, June 21, 2009

CHF Creative Chicks Blog Hop!



Hope everyone had a super weekend and spoiled their daddy guys! We had the family over and my husband cooked up a storm. I offered to do it all, but he wanted to take care of it. Seriously, how lucky am I? We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon, and because Dave is a great cook, we all ate ourselves silly!!! The burgers were fab, but I think the winning dish was the marinated pork loin that was grilled to perfection and then topped with a cantaloupe salsa, delish!! Thanks babe!!!

I bet most of you didn't come to visit to hear me talk about food though ;o)

It is a bloggy hop with all of the Cornish Heritage Farms Creative Chicks, and these girls are on fiyah! We all picked one of the Summer Stamp Star Design Challenges and gave it a go. That way if someone who might be on the fence about playing along with us needs a little inspiration or a kick in the pants, we got it for ya! I chose the paper piecing challenge. All of these techniques are so fun in my opinion, but the extra dimension that you get from piecing really floats my boat! I used stamps from the "Pretty Birds" and "Summer Trees" that are both in the Kim Hughes Collection. Various patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye, October Afternoon, and Fancy Pants. The ink I used for the whole project was Ranger's Distress Ink in "Walnut Stain". I used my little Fiskars scissors for most of the cut work, but an exacto worked best for the fence details (and was quicker).

The other girls you are sure to be inspired by are:

Julia Stainton
Lisa Strahl
Lisa Silver
Jennifer Roach
Sherrie Siemens
Kristine Reynolds
Joanne Allison

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful Monday!!!

B-

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Scrappy Saturday Stuff!


Spent the evening with Kim last night scrapping and yapping, always a great time! We are missing Tyler, but hearing from him very consistently, very grateful that he is a wonderful writer! I had made this layout a few weeks ago, but it took me a bit to get the journaling written in, typical for me, LOL! I have piles of layouts waiting for a little story or a few little embellishments to be added before I consider them done, a little embarrassing to admit actually...

;o)

I made a few fun cards last night, but they need a few finishing touches before I can share them. The CHF Challenge Chicks are doing a blog hop on Monday, so I am working on that project as well! Will be very fun and have loads of inspiration for the Summer Stamp Star Design Challenge I think. CHF is also having a great sale right now, 10% off of everything in the store, such a rarity to have a sale, and there are so many must haves, good thing to check out if you have time!

A little rainy here today, so I am going to try to get some of those projects out of the pile and into the finished category, that will be a very good thing!

Have a FAB weekend!
B-

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Winner of ATC Botanical Bliss set!

Congrats to Susan W. (otherwise known as anonymous #28...) You have won!!! Please email me so I can get that on its way to you!

This is what the "ATC Botanical Bliss" set looks like in its entirety! I just love all of the elements in this, and see myself trying to sneak them into lots of little hidden places on a project!

We just got a few months more of this line into production before I left for our trip, and can I just say that I am just as excited (or more if that is even possible!) about them. Anyway, when the time comes to share, you can bet that I will be shouting from the rooftop about those as well!

Dave and I had a very relaxing time on our trip. We did spend a substantial amount of time on planes, but it was well worth it for the time that we had in the ocean! The resort we stayed at was called Couples San Souci (here is a picture I took a picture from one of the outdoor restaurant areas) and it was incredible. So quiet and the grounds were visually stunning. We really got spoiled there, and now that we are home we don't want to lift a finger for ourselves, LOL! Laurel had her 18th birthday (Happy Birthday!!!) while we were gone and we were very sad that we had to schedule over her to enjoy time on our anniversary, but we brought her home some lovely little birthday things to make up for it (I hope it works!)
Glad to be home rested and renewed!
B-

Friday, June 12, 2009

Another Sneaky Peeky!


The release date for this line is getting closer, so it seemed another little looky was in order!
The new product line is called All Things Considered or ATC for short, and the set that I designed for it is called Botanical Bliss. The medallion and the dragonfly are from that. And the text used for the base is a new Scrapblock that Julia designed called Vintage Text, I love it and have already used it on so many things!
The flower was colored with Ranger Dimensional Pearls that were applied with a water brush, performs similarly to an acrylic, but has that gorgeous sparkle to it when you tip it side to side. Ranger Archival in Olive was used for the stamping so that it could withstand the moisture. That ink is so great for details, it picks up every little thing, LOVE IT!!! And the paper is from the Basic Grey Eva collection in the 6 x 6 pack, great scale for cards!
Dave and I will still be traveling on the release date, so I won't get to post again for a while.

Leave me a comment letting me know what you think, you have until next Thursday, and I will randomly pick someone to send a set out to! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

B-

Thursday, June 11, 2009

CHF Summer Stamp Star Design Challenge!




This month has been filled with loads of things that have been fun to work on! Next week is the launch of All Things Considered, some new Thomas Kinkade papers are in the works, and I have been dreaming up a new contest that I am so excited to finally get to share with the crafty world!!!
The Summer Stamp Star Design Challenge is a contest that lets stampers play along with one or all of the challenges to compete for a weekly spot on the blog and a gift certificate for some new stamps, or the ultimate prize of a month's worth of new stamps before the release dates and a month as a Guest Design Team member for September! I hope that all of you will find time to play!
(please click on the image to open it full size, blogger doesn't like it at full size for the post...) ;o)
Have fun!!
B-

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Scrawny Johnny...

I have the coolest Grandpa! He is my only one with us right now, but I am pretty sure that the others are keeping an eye on things down here. John Baggs is one of those guys that has always lead by example. He can chat with the best of them, but while he is visiting, he is always moving, always. He never would just sit back in the evening and watch tv, nope those hands had things they could still be doing. And I have quite a few of those reminders in my life, one of the most obvious day in and out is the covered dry cleaner hangers that he re-purposed by wrapping a couple of them together with yarn. Seriously the best hangers ever. He also dried pounds and pounds of fruit and would spend the evenings prepping them to get to the dryer. His garden always abounded with fruit, vegetables and herbs that he would deliver to neighbors who would use them or that he might have noticed a need in his quiet way. He spent hours providing service to his neighbors in many ways, and the only way my mom could ever get he and Grandma to come visit us in Oregon would be to find some large home improvement project that she "had" to have help with. His nickname from years in the armed service was Scrawny Johnny. All the guys loved him because he could out work and out play all of them and he was usually the shortest and thinnest of the bunch. He can eat his weight anyday of the week and not gain an ounce, I obviously did not inherit that trait, LOL! He never judged anyone, and he didn't take any guff from anyone. Tough with a heart of gold.
I wish that I could have spent more time with him growing up, but even though it was just a few golden days ever summer, the moments are precious. I think much of who I am and why has come from this wonderful guy and the fantastic family that he and his beloved wife brought up. He has three boys and four daughters. Those daughters are thick as thieves, they don't have to find trouble, it is pre-programmed in all of their cell phones. They are the shine in his eyes, and they adore and spoil him rotten, as it should be. They are family and when they all get together the husbands have nick-named it a Bagg-a-thon. It really does go for hours and hours with no end in sight, but the food is always delish and when it does eventually end you have a side ache from laughing so hard and enjoying their delightful company. So for those of you who know me too well, this probably explains alot about how I tick. I have a problem holding still, and please don't ever tell me that I can't do something, that is the quickest way to ensure that I promptly do it (just like my mom, LOL!)
I can't just sit and watch tv, I feel like I could be getting something done, so I crochet. Nothing fancy, just row after row of the same stitch. The colors sometimes change as the projects get finished and started, but the simplicity of my effort is always consistent. Do the best you can, with what you have, everyday.
And I have him to thank him for that gift.

B-




Tuesday, June 09, 2009

A little sneak peek!


Oh, I am so excited!! Lisa and I have been working on this art line for many months, and the time for it to debut is almost here!!! So I just wanted to share a little sneak of a few of the pieces from it on a card I made. Inspired by the fortune in my cookie from a dinner Kim and I had from Panda Express, this little card would give any friend that extra little boost of confidence don't you think! I know it would for me...
And the papers from Cosmo Cricket's Ever After collection were such a fun combo, timeless and elegant. It reminds me that sometimes we are not on the schedule we want to be on, but on the schedule that the Lord has for us, and who is to say what soon is then?


B-

Sunday, June 07, 2009

She's Graduated!



Well the start of Summer officially arrived for us on Friday when Carter was picked up from his last day of school at noon. The night before was the big hurrah for Laurel as our family attended her commencement exercises on the University of Utah campus in the Huntsman Center. Fitting as that is where she will begin her journey as an adult this fall as a student there. We are very proud of her growth in the last few years and know that she is on the path to experiencing more at that great institution.

After such an exciting evening on Thursday and a short day on Friday, I managed to get a little work done. I feel very blessed to work with such a wonderful team of people and Richard and Liz are the best kind of people to work for. Saturday was my cousin's wedding shower and then an afternoon with Kim crafting, or as she says "scrappin' and yappin'"

hehehe!

We hear from Tyler in an email once a week, it is very expensive for him to send that as he has to go to an internet cafe type of business and pay by the minute so we encourage him to type fast and save his money for his meals. We send him a letter every week from all of us, but he is only able to get his mail about every 6 weeks right now because of where he is located in a town called Sinop that is 8-9 hours north of Cuiaba. Every day the weather is between 30-35 celcius and he walks about 20 miles a day. he has to buy filtered water, and is eating an apple a day as his evening snack. He is so healthy now, wonder how long that will last when he gets home and has all the temptations of fast and junk food in front of him again, LOL!

Chloe is so impressive, she almost pulled off a 4.0 at AMES and just missed by getting a B+ in her Algebra II class. She is attending a Bio-Tech camp on a full scholarship this summer, and is working on her internship plans for next year with the hopes of having it with a medical clinic. She really wants to get into medical school to possibly become an anthesiaologist. She is such a commited student and hard worker that I have no doubt that she will be able to achieve her dreams.
Carter is learning the value of preparing himself for the future and has some great summer experiences scheduled as well. Boy Scout camp is a week long adventure, and he also gets to attend youth conference for the first time, he is really excited about all of it.

The last week has been a little tough on me as I am having reality shoved into my face that my little sweet family is really ready to start on their own paths, and I am not ready for that, gets me really teary and choked up. I know that Dave and I have spent everyday doing the very best with what resources we have had available to develop the talents of these wonderful people we have in our lives. We have had to leave a lot in the Lord's hands and we have had to let a lot of differences pass between us. But as I see our family coming into another chapter, I am happy for their successes and hope that we can help them when and where they may need it. Change isn't necessarily hard, just different, and I am going to try to meet it with enthusiasm and enery if I can.

B-

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

I love fast cars!!!


I love fast cars, from the sleek exotics to the big American muscle, the faster the better! I think one of those things that I would have tried to do if I could go back in time (not that I would because re-doing high school is one of my worst nightmares) but trying to figure out how to get into racing cars would be the coolest thing! Just a few days ago I was at Kim's and we passed one of those old restored Camaros with hot rod red paint and white racing stripes, I have to admit that I gawked and then gushed! Poor Kim having to listen to my crazy talk! My husband wants to strangle me every time I dream of someday buying some slick little exotic that would surely get me into constant trouble with the local law. Probably a good thing we can't afford one, LOL! So in the mean time I am living vicariously through my GM stamps! This Camaro collage just makes me happy to look at, and I love that it is a beach setting, seriously old school cool!!
This image releases today, and I used Ranger Archival Sepia and Rust Antiquities embossing powder for the title. Design tip is to paper piece the car and then for dimension use an embossing pen to fill in the title sprinkle the embossing powder and then heat. It really is a quick card, and with Father's Day just around the corner it will be a tough call on who to give this to, I know all the dads in my life would love to get it!
As for me, pretty sure the real deal isn't in my future anytime soon so I am just going to have to be content busting around town in my huge Yukon XL. I drive it like I stole it, and with just over 200,000 miles on it, you know it has seen some serious road tripping and car pooling days! It is a member of our family and would be sad to know that I was coveting a different style of ride. But it has a BIG block eight, so plenty of get up and go for what I need...

;o)

B-

p.s. It has an engine safety mechanism that governs the engine when it gets to 100 mph. Don't ask how I know, just do...

Sunday, May 31, 2009

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)

B-

Thursday, May 28, 2009

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!!!

B-

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

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!

B-

Monday, May 25, 2009

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...

B-

Sunday, May 24, 2009

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!
B-

Thursday, May 21, 2009

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!
B-

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

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!!!

B-

Monday, May 18, 2009

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!
B-

Saturday, May 16, 2009

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!!!
B-

Monday, May 11, 2009

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!
B-

Saturday, May 09, 2009

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!!!

B-

Thursday, May 07, 2009

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!
B-

Sunday, May 03, 2009

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!!!
B-