Sketch anyone?

Getting sketchy over on the Crate blog today. Here is my take:

I traded the scallops for stars...what can I say? Having 2 boys I use lots of stars! And I love them. Stars to me are probably what butterflies are to scrappers with little girls ;) I probably use them on at least half the layouts I do, and I am perfectly okay with that :)

I realized after I was finished, which is what usually happens, that I didn't have a spot for the journaling. I had used it up with embellies--go figure ;) Those buttons and brads in all of Crate's newest collections are just too yummy! No sweat-- I took a tag from Studio Calico's Countryside line and typed it up, used a brad to secure it behind the photo so it wouldn't slip.

A bit of State Fair, also by Studio Calico--that "Ride" tag was just too perfect. And those October Afternoon Mini Markets just might make an appearance in my layouts from now on! See the rest of the fabulous sketch interpretations HERE and don't forget to play along!

Speaking of October Afternoon, did you see the newest line Boarding Pass?

Uh huh. My mitts can hardly wait for it. See it all HERE.
And with that I am off to do 100 million things before trying to finish up some guesting projects tonight. I'll spill the beans when I can ;)

Here, There & Everywhere

Somehow in the world of scrapping and blogging I managed to be in two places at once today! But really if you are a busy momma you do that everyday anyway ;)
Over on the Crate Paper blog I have a fun tutorial on using patterned paper to make yo-yos! Really easy with lots of dimension...
I love how this layout turned out about my two different, but precious boys.

You can find the full tutorial HERE.

And on the October Afternoon blog I have the first post of the new design team..and it's a challenge! A "throw a little vintage on it" challenge....you knew I would go there, right? ;)
I had this mini in my head for awhile...just a little documentation of "the little things" that make our house a home...and that someday I will miss. Like legos and toys everywhere ;)  And little bitty toothbrushes...

Be sure and check out the post HERE. A prize is up for grabs :)
Happy Monday!

A good day

Every day is  a good day. Truly. Even the bad ones. Because I have a wonderful family. A warm house. Food to eat. We are healthy. And happy and safe.
Yes every day is a good day indeed.
Some days just come with an extra dose of happy.
Like thursday when I received my first pub request from Creating Keepsakes! Can I get an EEEKK?!? I just returned from mailing it out--big smile.
And then the featured project of the day was mine at Two Peas in a Bucket. That has never happened! What..you missed seeing it? Fear not--I took a screenshot just for you ;)

Well for me really, but you get the idea.
A layout up on the Crate Paper blog using the sketch from the talented Emily Pitts:

Be sure and take a try at the sketch. There is a new Crate Paper collection up for grabs!
And then there is this sweet boy who is weeks away from being registered for Kindergarden.
KINDERGARDEN!! When did that happen. Big momma sigh.

And then this bottle of cute turns 3 a week from today.

My BABY is 3?! Crib and diapers long gone. He almost doesn't need a stool for the bathroom sink. He has traded in Little People toys for cowboy guns and super hero capes. I just registered him for preschool yesterday.
Big momma sigh number two.
Life is flying by at light speed. Every day IS GOOD. I want to enjoy the fast/crazy/beautiful/messy/blessed life I get to live and hold tight.
Have you had a good day lately?

Another round of catching up...

Why is it 3 days past Valentine's and I am still making these?

Seriously someone stop me!
So Monday was enjoyed with with a green lego box, homemade valentines and spending time together as a family. I think the boys favorite part was getting sparkling cider in their super hero cups..that or the heart suckers daddy surprised them with.

A few shares for you today...lots of tutorials & lovelies on the Crate Paper blog from the design team lately! HERE I share how to dress up die cuts with lots of dimension and texture using burlap flowers.

I have always had a thing for burlap. I think it comes from my rug hooking days...which I hope to someday get back into. If only there were more time! These sweet boys were featured on the blog yesterday-

I love this herringbone stamp from Studio Calico--reminded me of some of the decorations you see on military uniforms...I am sure "decorations" is not the proper title! But you know what I mean ;) Anyway I combined it with some Jenni Bowlin Spice Tin ink, paper and star ribbon for embellishment clusters of the Army variety. These pictures were meant for that line, don't you think?! What's great is there are just enough elements of the Toy Box line with a "military" type theme, but really the line could go several directions. Of course with a little guy who packs toy gun heat everyday of the week it works perfect here. ;) Case in point...this was Paxton this morning:

2 cowboy vests, 2 pair of handcuffs and 3 guns. Bad guys BEWARE! :D That hat is his daddy's from when he was this age. Melts my heart to think of Rory wearing it!
On the May Arts blog we had a week with Glue Arts and I created this layout.

A little softer than the one above ;) Had fun with the Sew Easy tool using burlap string in place of embroidery floss. More photos here. May Arts ALWAYS seems to have a great contest going on! Be sure and check their blog and facebook page for details.
We are looking forward to sunshine and temps ABOVE freezing..like 60+ degrees! Am I dreaming? I hope not!

CHA and playing catch up

CHA is officially over---and all the photos of new goodies waiting to be released has my head spinning--in a good way! :D
I was fortunate to be able to design some projects for October Afternoon's booth at CHA. I don't think it would come as any surprise how much I adore their lines, and from what I gather they have released a few new products as well such as ...
Sprinklers, a spray ink (non-shimmery) mist in 4 basic colors as well as 3 colors that match each of the new lines. If you know me you know I rarely scrap without a bottle of mist, or 10!, ready to splatter on so I am super excited to see how these compare to the mists I already own.
 Miscellany,  like a packet of ephemera (buttons, ribbon, wild cards, chipboard shapes, etc.). I always like the variety of embellies
Four colors of Sticky Keys were released, which sound similar to the Mini Market stickers, but round in shape. I am a sucker for those mini stickers anyway.
And the rubber charms are back! I still have a package hoarded from one of OA's very first releases so I am glad to see these back in action :)

5 & Dime looks to me like a mash up of Thrift Shop and Modern Homemaker. Great for spring layouts, all things vintage-y and pics of Ethel:

Who is Ethel you ask? I have no clue! Ha!! I found some great vintage photos at a flea market and brought them home, knowing someday they would make their way onto a project..and so she did! Rory thought it was so funny that I just randomly scrapped a pic of a person I didn't know (much less that I had named her) and asked what would I do if someone saw it at CHA in California said, "hey--that's my great grandma!" I said, "Well then they should be disappointed that some cruel person in their family in Missouri sold her photo for 50 cents!" :D And I think she looks pretty there and really, she does love her flowers ;)

Another vintage pic I scrapped for the show using Modern Homemaker:

Don't those guys look like they are having fun? I think the honeycomb look will be a new trend (or at least a revisited one) in the scrapping world. These patterned paper hexagons were created using my Slice, rest in peace you crazy machine!!

And then my fav release, Rocket Age:

My boys, Aven in particular, are OBSESSED with space. We talk about it a lot during the day. As a matter of fact at dinner last night we were discussing random factoids about the planets, comets, black holes and dwarf planets. (are we nerds?) Anyway, I had mentioned to some friends I wish that a company would design a space themed line with a vintage spin.

This is totally what I had in my head! I do not say it lightly when I say I think this is my FAVORITE OA line to date. It just really fits my "momma to 2 boys" life right now and I know there will be lots that say it doesn't work for them, but I also just see it having great colors/patterns for summer, particularly 4th of July. I just love how this layout turned out--can't wait to recreate it for my own scrap album :)

I was also able to create a layout for the Crate Paper booth, who hit home runs with FOUR fantastic lines this time, as well as new embellies like ribbon, journaling tags and THE COOLEST BUTTONS EVER, but that project will show up on their blog at some point so I will wait to share until then ;D I will say I was able to scrap some photos I had been saving for sometime and the Toy Box line was the perfect opportunity!! There are still 2 lines of theirs I have yet to play with so I am excited to get those as well :)
And on the May Arts blog the other day I did a little gift bag re-do tutorial using FAB May Arts ribbon and Crate Paper scraps--

you can catch the full tutorial and more pics HERE. Do be sure and check out their blog and facebook page--I believe there is a giveaway going on right now with some fresh off the press ribbon!

Whoosh--busy post! Thanks for sticking with me :)
What a fun crafty time of the year---perfect for when you are snowed in because of a blizzard.
In Missouri.
For real.
Stay warm friends!!

Are you ready?

Up until now you have only spied peeks...

But tomorrow Crate Paper begins the full reveal of their newest collections! Yippee!
I have two of the four newest lines in my hot little hands and they have a serious WOW factor! If you dig a vintage, retro vibe to your scrapping products you will NOT be disappointed. Be sure to check out their blog tomorrow!

We are also gearing up for some much anticipated snow tomorrow. I love the feeling the night before a potential snow day, almost like a mini version of Christmas Eve to me :) There will be plenty of disappointment if we do not awake to a winter wonderland!! In any case, I have the infamous Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls ready and rising--which I think will taste quite lovely with a big glass of milk following a few runs with the sled ;D

A few cards..

..to throw up on the ole blog while I am absent being little miss scrappity scrapper. I really am still here....Just busy creating CHA stuff that I can't show yet and taking care of my littlest guy who can't seem to shake a cough and wheeze :(
Both of these were created with Crate Paper goodies...

I think this would be a sweet valentine or even a wedding card.

My boys flipped over this robot card.  I think they will each need one to remind them how much their momma loves them because I really do have 2 of the coolest kids. Evidence...

Uh huh. He was most definitely up to something.
And really likes to take his shirt off. He has came in my bed more than once in the wee hours without a shirt on! What in the world?!;)
Back to paper...did you see the Crate blog today? I was asked to join for the spring design team term! HOORAY!! 10 fun facts are up about me. Did you know the end cheese weirds me out? No? Or that I was a "hooker"? Hee hee--go to their blog for clarification on that one!! ;D
May Arts is still cranking out the most awesome ribbons and trims. I recently got ahold of this aqua faux linen.

 It's even prettier in real life! So pretty in fact a few more colors are headed my way ;) They have some organic ribbons coming soon that I am excited to play with too. I created this fun leaf headband after one I saw at Urban Outfitters, for not even 1/4 the price!

Is it even necessary to point out that that taking pics of my head is NOT my strong suit?  ;)
Head here for a tutorial.
HOw is the weather where you live? I went out tonight and it was 10 degrees! BRRR!!! Off to drink some hot chocolate :) Stay warm!

Crate Paper's Autumn Blog Hop

Welcome to the Autumn Blog Hop with Crate Paper!

It's my first time participating in a blog hop so I am very excited, and speaking of excited...did you see the prize you could win? WOWZA!! That could DEFINITELY come in handy! So be sure and visit all the participating Crate Paper design team member's blogs so you get all the letters you need, and gain some inspiration along the way :)
Now to my tag--

There are SO MANY things I could have listed to be thankful for, but one day driving home I was noticing how beautiful the leaves looked in the trees on the road to our house and I thought "I am so thankful for this road home." Thankful that just around the corner I turn into our driveway that leads to our home, where I get to laugh and love with my sweet family.

Most everything I create has at least a touch of vintage.
Here I used my old typewriter to repeat the thankful theme, as well as vintage woodgrain Dymo tape--man oh man will I be bummed when my stash of that is down to nothing!

Burlap makes me think of fall for some reason so I cut out and sewed some leaves to add alongside beautiful papers and embellishments from Crate Paper's Restoration, School Spirit and Season lines.

I snapped a quick instant picture of our home and added it to the back of the tag. It will be interesting to see how it might change over the years. I love that the size of this tag will fit nicely into a gratitude journal I am creating.

Thanks so much for hopping over and if you have any questions about my tag just leave it in the comment section!
Now skip back to the Crate Paper blog to find your next designer blog stop! *and don't forget to grab that letter in the sidebar ;)
Have fun and enjoy your day!

CP and Me

A little drive-by post today......Still completely shocked that I was asked to join the design team for Crate Paper! You could have knocked me off my chair when I got that email ;D The girls over there are nothing short of the sweetest and I am honored to be listed as a designer with them.
And my newest pal Kinsey was asked to join as well! It is always nice to have someone else be with you as the new kid on the block ;) And her work--CRAZY GOOD!
THANK YOU for your sweet comments friends. It means so much to have you share in my excitement! You can see the full announcement here.
Wishing you a day just as exciting!!

Crate goodness!

Wow-where have I been? This time of year just seems to fly by!

I was contacted by the sweet Christine Middlecamp, DT coordinator of the awesome Crate Paper, asking if I would be interesting in guest designing for October.

My one sentence reply was "Are you serious?"
Ha!! OF COURSE! So I was able to play with some of the awesome new collections:

If you want to see the full reveal, as well as my silly answers to their questionnaire ( I am really not good at those things!), please visit the Crate Paper blog!
Leave me a comment there and let me know what you think !

I'm also in the process of planning a Star Wars/Lego birthday party for one special soon-to-be 5 year old boy! Because when the Lego box says this 205 piece set is for ages 7-14....it's not true at this house!! ;)

Pink & Butterflies?

For boys?

When the theme is ICE CREAM I say YES!

My little take on the Crate Paper sketch challenge. I turned the sketch 90 degrees clockwise to fit the look I was going for.

Picking up Aven today from preschool I asked if the boy that had pushed and thrown rocks earlier in the week was being nice today. He said, "Mom , I told him...'Let's be more like Jesus'!"

Amen brother.

Enjoy your weekend :)

Oh April...

...you are off to a great start.

what with your sunshining days, your Easter blessings, your thrift store findings and "Brilliant" kit making:

The Freehand Scraps April kit "Brilliant" is up for sale and it is just perfect for this time of year! Be sure to check out the gallery for more inspiration. As always, if you have any questions about what I did just ask :)

And in case you are curious the thrifty findings over the weekend were great. $7.50 for a retro chair?! Rory was not a fan...sure it needs recovering, but again I say SEVEN DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS!!! Plus a woodgrain thermos, a cool $1 sheet and $1 deer cross stitch picture. A pretty cheap thrill if you ask me ;)