Saturday crop

Today I met up with my girls Tiffany and Richele to crop at the local high school. It was nice to spend a few hours catching up and chatting about our lives. I finished one 12x12 page and 16 pages of Morgans 16th birthday album. I'm way behind on getting her album done so I decided I would focus on completing it over the next few days or so. There's also a sneak peek of Tiffany's kit that will be launched on Monday if you take a look below. It's a cute spring album and it's sure to sell out quick so if you want one be ready to get it Monday morning.

Scrap Tiffany challenge

Here is my layout for the ScrapTiffany challenge this week. The challenge prompt was "wings" so the first thing that came to my mind was the Kelly Clarkson song "Breakaway". The lyrics talk alot about spreading your wings and learning to fly, something that all teenagers do at somepoint. Rachel is moving along in her life as a young woman and she's learning to "fly" out into the world. I am so proud of all she has done so far and I'm excited to see what she'll do with her future. Love you Rachel.
I used a mixture of product for the page, I think the paper was Fancy Pants, the letters are Making Memories, the transparency is Heidi Swapp,the embellishments are new Prima and the wings are Glitz rub ons. Love this page!

Mini books

This is my entry way table where I keep some of my mini albums. I just moved them here a while ago thinking the new location would get them looked at a little more. Not so much. It's weird, most of my albums don't really get looked at much. Every now and then one of the kids will pull out a few and look through but otherwise they just sit on the shelf. Even I dont look at them too often. I think that "someday" the kids (and me too) will want to look back through them to remember the days when they were little and Mom and Dad were young. I think that's really why I scrapbook, to plan for the days when I want to look back and remember the past. That's the day the mini books will get the attention they deserve. For now they'll just have to settle for this blog post.

We R Memory Keepers Album

A few weeks ago Tiffany gave me this album and she was nice enough to have already covered it with paper, which is the hardest part. It one of those "shaped" albums that look really cool once they're done but are intimidating to do. I was seriously relieved to get it already covered! I used pictures from the kids' photo shoot from last year at Tumwater Falls Park as the theme and scraps of the paper that the album was covered with. I also used some Basic Grey brads as embellishments and a few bits of ribbon. I really like how this one turned out. The kids look so much older already from these pictures when I compare them to the ones I took yesterday, time really does fly.

So, I got a little sneak peek at Tiffany's kit for March. Let me just say- super cute!! I'm pushing her to get it out early, you really are going to make sure you get this one, it is adorable. Keep checking Tiffany's site for lots of upcoming changes, fun stuff is on the way.

Pictures of the kids

I don't know what it is about February, or November for that matter, but those months always make me want to take family pictures. I think it might be the way the weather still looks nice in November, like it's not quite Winter yet. And in February we get a few days of really nice weather that make me think Spring is coming. Either way, the days are clear and cold and the kids are full of energy. So much so that it's always a challenge to get them to focus on posing for me. Before I took these pictures today Jim was sure to remind me that "this is our thing", the kids complain and you get frustrated but in the end they always play along and give you what your after. And true to form, they all complained about one thing or another- the clothes I wouldn't let them wear, how cold it was outside, how long it was taking, the boys goofing around, how may pictures I was taking. It was our normal photo shoot. They also laughed a lot, goofed around with each other, posed with each other and smiled for me just enough to give me a few gems out of almost 200 shots. And you know what; I wouldn’t have it any other way.

My great Minnesota adventure

Last week during my trip ro Minnesota I was amazed at the "different" things I saw. There was the ski hill right next to the freeway, snow mobiles and all of the trails across almost every field, the huge icecicles hanging from houses, the little kids paying hockey outside in 5 degree weather- at night no less, and then there were the frozen lakes. What the heck?? The lakes freeze over so much that you can drive on them!! Of course I have seen ice fishing houses on TV and I knew it was possible but I had never seen anything like this in real life. So the manager I was working with decided to take me to a lake for my "great Minnesota adventure". He was so funny, he really played up how dangerous it could be, he made me unbuckle my seatbelt and roll down my window in case we went through the ice. Then he told me a story about one of his friends that had gone through the ice and couldn't roll down his windows. Then once we got on the ice he made me listen for the ice to crack under the car- thank goodness it didnt, I would have peed myself. Trust me, I was more than a little freaked out. If you have never driven on top of a lake it can be a little weird, it's really quiet and a bit unnerving. There were lots of ice fishing houses and several snowmobiles out there cruising around. It was really cool and I am so glad I did it, it's one of those things I may never do again, there aren't a whole lot of frozen lakes in Washington State. My only regret for this trip is that I didn't take my camera, I was constantly regretting it as I saw all of these amazing, different things. Thank goodness for cell phones or I wouldnt even have this picture.

Flora Doodles and sneak peek

There are a few supplies that I really like to use, Thickers of course, Bazzil cardstock, dingle balls, and flowers of any kind. So when I came across these Flora Doodle flowers I knew they were going home with me. I've bought them in past in white and found myself using them over and over again so this blue and green mix will surely get put to lots of use as well. Look for them on some upcoming pages, maybe with that ribbon from yesterday, hmmm.....

Here's a little sneak peek of my page for the challenge this week over at ScrapTiffany. Head over there later this week to see the whole layout and to get some ideas for other "Love" pages. This week has some amazing layouts!! http://www.scraptiffany.com/

New goodies from Archivers

So last week when I traveled to Minnesota I got a chance to go to Archivers-TWICE! First I went to the one in the Mall of America and then I was surprised to find out that there was another one just about 20 minutes from where I was staying. And the manager of the store was the fiance of the guy I was meeting with for two days! You should have seen my face when he said " my fiance works for a scrapbook store called Archivers", I almost fell out of my chair. So of course he called her for me and we chatted on the phone a few minutes, then I drove up to the store after work. That store is where I bought these yummy Dear Lizzy papers from American Crafts and the new Felt Flowers too. I also picked up the Making Memories felt flowers because they were a good match for the paper, and a good deal too. The ribbon is this cool Bazzil ribbon that stretches, I think it will be interesting to use on a layout. So, the fun part about all these goodies? I bought them for Tiffany!! It's kind of "our thing" to always give eachother goodies of some kind when we get together to scrap or sometimes just to hang out. I think we are both "givers" by nature and it makes us happy to give something that someone else will enjoy. I'm always on the lookout for new stuff to pick up for Tiffany because she doesn't get to the scrap store too often- she's way too busy! So , here's a little sneak peek for her and a look at some fun new product for the rest of you. Enjoy!

Valentines Day Wedding Album

In honor of Valentines and our upcoming 10th wedding anniversay, I decided it was about time to do an album of our wedding. I gave it to Jim for a Valentines Day gift. It's so weird to think that it's already been 10 years since we got married, it really doesn't seem that long until you look at pictures of the kids. They were so small when Jim and I got together, just babies really, and now they're almost grown. I used all Teresa Collins products on the album, a mixture of her new Wedding line and her old Friendship line. The Friendship line is one of my all time favorites lines, I could use it over and over again and never get tired of it. I think the colors were perfect for this project and I love how it turned out. I hope you all had a great Valentines Day!!

Scrap Tiffany Blog Hop

Welcome to the LoveShack Scrap Spot and the Scrap Tiffany Blog Hop. I am excited to be participating in the blog hop and love the "Celebration" theme. With the help of a friend, you know who you are, I decided to do a candy holder for Valentines day. I hope you like the project and continue along on the blog hop- because the last stop is our sweet girl Tiffany!If this is your first stop on the blog hop click this link to take you back to the beginning. http://www.scraptiffany.com/  Be sure to leave a comment on Tiffany's blog- she's giving away a scraptiffany apron that is really cute. Feel free to look around my blog and leave me a comment if you see anything you like. Happy Valentines Day everyone!!!

Edited**    Thanks for all of the awesome comments. I was so tired when I posted this last night I left out some of the details.  The container I used for this project was picked up at a local craft store and I cut the paper by hand and glued it on using my ATG gun. The paper is from a K&Co. pad I picked up at Marshalls- who knew they had scrapbook supplies?? The ribbon is American Crafts and the hearts are Making Memories. I hope you are all enjoying the blog hop- I know I am, I've spent most of the morning on the computer!!

On the Road Again

So I hate posts without pictures but sometimes there's nothing to be done about it. I am sitting here in the Seattle airport waiting for my flight to Minneapolis and I dont have any pictures on my laptop. And I didnt bring a camera. Shocking, I know! I am spending the next 3 days working in a town just out side Minneapolis. I've been checking the weather for the last few days because , you know, winter in the Mid West- not so fun. Luckily the last snow predicted for this week was yesterday, the next few days are supposed to just be clear and cold. And when I say cold, I mean COLD. The highs are supposed to be in the upper teens and the lows in the single digits. Single digits?? Not looking forward to that. I did pack a heavy coat, gloves and a scarf because I'm sure I'll need them. So, being the dedicated scrapper that I am, I checked to see if there are any good scrapping stores in the Minneapolis area. And- there are 3 Archivers! Holy cow, did they originate in Minneapolis or something? Not that I'm complaining, it will make it easy to stop by one in my off time or lunch break. I'm hoping to get my hands on some new CHA goodies. Wish me luck!

Celebrations Challenge

This weeks challenge at ScrapTiffany is celebrations and with 4 kids I have lots of birthday pictures to choose from. As I sorted through my pictures I decided to use the ones from Rachel's 16th birthday party. We had told her for months that we couldnt afford to get her a car and to not even expect one so it was a fun surprise to take her outside and surprise her with a car. The look on her face was priceless.  It was a Ford Taurus, a safe, not fancy, good first car. The bad part about the car is less than a month later she totalled it on her way to work. She didnt get hurt but that was the end of her car driving for a while.  I used mostly Bo Bunny products on this page and , per my style, kept it pretty simple. Head on over to Scrap Tiffany to see what the rest of the design team did this week.

Making the Beer

Jim's mom gave him a beer making kit for Christmas and about a month ago he and Mike decided to give it a try. The one thing about beer making you need to know is, it takes a LONG time. There are some real specific cleaning and hygeine things that have to happen first so a bunch of yucky bacteria doesn't form and ruin your beer. Then it just time waiting, for weeks and weeks. Last night the beer was ready to be tasted. And before I get a bunch or dirty looks for letting my boy have a drink of beer, know that is was just a drink, not a whole bottle of beer. I dont allow my kids to drink, I dont drink and Jim rarely drinks. This was just a fun thing for Mike and Jim to do together and they had a great time doing, just look at those crazy smiles on their faces. The beer turned out great , I'm not sure if they'll do it again any time soon but it was definately alot of fun.

Prom Page

Yesterday I stopped in at Michaels to check out the scrapbook section and I came across some great new stuff. The yellow lace ruffel and the flowers on this lay out are new product from Prima. As soon as I saw the ruffle I knew exactly which pictures I was going to use with it. Rachel's Junior prom dress was a super fluffy, yellow, princess dress that we bought at Doria's in downtown Olympia. I shudder when I think back to the cost of this dress and the arguments to get it, and now it's just hanging in our closet. Hopefully Morgan will be interested in going to dances this year and we can maybe get one more wear out of it. The papers are Bo Bunny Gypsy and I bought them because I loved the colors, I didn't have a specifc layout or pictures in mind. I think it all tied together nicely and I'm happy with the end result.

Laugh!

When I took these pictures of the girls I knew there would a few that I would like, but I love the one where they are both laughing. They were so funny that day. They were petting the cows and then wanted to let one lick them so they could see what their tongues felt like but they couldn't decide who was going to do it. Rachel finally did it and they both cracked up afterward. I love the genuine expressions on their faces in the pictures. I kept this layout pretty simple, I just used a die cut transparency to mat the larger photo, a few buttons and brads for embellishments and then I painted a piece of chipboard pink for the title. I also used a piece of Queen & Co flowered felt to put the title on. It turned out exactly like I imagined it. It felt good to get a scrap page done during the work week, that doesn't happen very often.