ScrapbookChic

1985

2012-01-31T09:39:00.000-08:00

Have you hear that song by Bowling for Soup "1985" well I like it and here's probably why. If you want to hear it I think it's on my music player on the side #7 then Wham is #9-Oh, Yeah!

I found some old pictures and it brought up a lot of memories so I thought I'd post a little of it.

This picture was on Temple square of all places(not a modest choice for the occasion) I think I was going for the Pretty in Pink-16 Candles Look. And yes those movies along with Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire, Ferris Bueler's Day Off, etc are all in my video library and I watch them often. When we have girls weekends we watch them all night long. I can tell you the lines to 16 Candles and Pretty in Pink word for word before they happen. I'm having a little laugh right now just thinking about that one.

Now this one is a hoot. I was a very big Madonna fan as you can probably tell. This is when I came back from New York after being a nanny and I brought my new found style with me. Also my boyfriend at the time, Al came all the way from New York to visit me. We were sure stylin.

This brings back all the memories of the music that was to come in the years to follow.

I was into "MOD" or MODERN music as we called it. Most people call it Alternative today.

Depeche Mode, INXS, Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, Oingo Boingo, Howard Jones and so many more. I think my friend Darla and I went to all of these bands concerts minus Duran Duran (I don't think they came to SLC) but many of them we went to multiple times in different years and in some cases multiple times in one week(can you sing "Black Celebration" from Depeche Mode) We had so much fun specially at the outdoor concerts at the ski resort that is now called The Canyons but I think it was Park West or Wolf Mountain back then. Lots of throwing things and laughing and maybe ripping a guys shirt-on accident. LOL

Going dancing was our lives.

I worked as a manager at clothing stores in the day and at night and weekends we danced at "The Bay" and "Zenon". Then after a while both Darla and I started working at Zenon so we got to dance for free- actually we got paid for it- how awesome was that. I started off by taking tickets at the front door but moved up to dancing bar girl(only soda- no alcohol club) in the "Backlot" or the part of the club that just played Modern music and not the pop stuff that was played up front.

Concerts, Music, Dancing, Guys that was my crazy ride in the mid 80's.

Don't want to go back there, but it sure is fun to remember.

New Year-New Adventures!

2012-01-04T09:22:00.000-08:00

Well since I couldn't find a free premade computer destop I decided to make my own (a first) I used the kit "A New Day" by Meredith Cardall for all the paper and elements and then I used the calendar grid and January title from Fayette Designs on PickleBerryPop.

Hope your new year is starting well.

I know I'm a Slacker big time!

2011-12-30T10:01:00.000-08:00

Well I haven't posted one thing this month until now.

I've been substitute teaching a ton, decorating for Christmas, making Christmas cards, shopping, making crafty neighbor gifts (pedestal cake plates), taking kids to tons of music lessons, Orchestra and Piano recitals, making a gingerbread house, school singing programs, Family with stomach flu, helping with my kids school parties, and new 2012 calendars for Xmas gifts. Plus for my mother in law's Christmas present I made her a wall of frames with all the grand kids photos in them along with ribbon and a vinyl lettering saying at the top. Now I'm sewing a few new skirts for my daughter today.

Whew!
Here's a few pics.

Christmas Eve PJ's

and then the cleanup begins.

I just got off the treadmill and need a shower and the kids need to get out of bed and do something productive. So I am alive and kicking just not at the computer very much anymore.

A Happy 2012 to everyone.

Check out the goodies

2011-11-22T06:23:00.000-08:00

Here's her blog

Thankful

2011-11-21T09:55:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful that I get to let my creative juices flow every week or so.

I made these fun table name place cards for a Thanksgiving dinner. We actually do our Thanksgiving with my side of the family and that includes more than 40 people. So needless to say I won't be making place cards for everyone. I may try cooking the $30 free turkey I got that's in my freezer and make our own family Thanksgiving dinner the week after-If I get REALLY motivated that is.

I used Meredith Cardall new digital kit called "Attitude of Gratitude" to create the flower elements and the family frame. The tutorial is on her BLOG so go check it out.

Then I also made a fun altered tin with another kit called "Brand New Day" from Meredith. And there's another tutorial on her BLOG

some more exciting things coming for Meredith's designs so stay tuned.

Halloween Time-translation-Treats and Fun!

2011-10-31T09:03:00.000-07:00

It's that "SPOOKY" day and I've been frantically making things the last few days to make a "good presentation" as I would say. I think I'm addicted to quotation marks. LOL Anyway, I decorated some candy jars. I used the cute new kit called "Treats Only" by Meredith Cardall. Jump over to her blog if you want the instructions for some of these items.

I also used the same kit to make the tags for my boys treat bags for their classroom parties. Why do I torture myself. I was up making their stuff when I could be relaxing. It's what I love to do I think- well sometimes.

Meredith has some super cute bottle wraps but I also found some on Fayette's Designs. I used the Witches Brew ones from Fayette since I needed to bring some soda to my kids classes anyway. I just ripped off the labels and put on my own fun ones. Check out Fayette's blog with some of these freebies.

My other project that I started about a month ago was a Halloween Tree. I knew I wanted to make a tree of some sorts and I saw a big corkscrew willow branch on the ground on the first part of my daily walk. On the last leg of my hour walk I found a peice of plywood just lying in the road. So as soon as I got home I jumped in the car and went and picked up the branch and then the plywood (it was already in the small square perfect for what I needed) Then I got some wood glue and a long wood screw and hooked the branch to the wood. I then used some glossy black spray paint and this is how it turned out.

How I love free things.

I bought some small skeletons to hang on it. I also have a cute Halloween kit by Fayette that I plan on using some of the elements for the ornaments. But since it's Halloween already I'm not sure if I'll have time in between running to the store for last minute candy for classes, helping with kids class parties, getting all dressed up in my witch costume,etc. We will see I guess.

So if you don't have money to buy decorations use your imagination and make some. I have a few other branches I collected and I wanted to paint one bright purple and the other bright green but didn't get to that project this year. Maybe I'll use them at Christmastime and paint them white or something.

So may your Halloween be crafty!

I hope it's full of Treats and not so many Tricks.

Girls Get Away

2011-10-18T16:28:00.000-07:00

I planned a fun girls weekend with my sisters, mom & friends. I made a bunch of fun digital things using the kit "Hey Girlfriend" by Fayette Designs. I also made personalized cups for everyone. We stayed up late watching fun movies, played games, went shopping, ate out and had way too much junk food. All in all a great way to spend a weekend without hubbies and kids.

I took pictures of everyone and put it them in these fluffy little frames for them all to take home.

Thanks for all the fun ladies!

Real Bushels of Fun

2011-10-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

I actually used the cute new kit called "Bushels of Fun" from Meredith Cardall to make these two cards. You can see the tutorial on her blog.

Bushels of Fun-Maybe Not

2011-10-02T18:11:00.000-07:00

I got a whole bunch of tomatoes so I could bottle them as I use them for spaghetti sauce, etc. I thought 4 boxes should do the trick. Well they sure did the trick. Eight hours of bottling got me 47 quarts to put down in my food storage pantry. I'm set for another 3 years. And that's about how much time I need to recover from the heat and mess. Good thing I don't need to do peaches this year.

Blast from the Past

2011-09-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I attended my 30th (yes I said 30th) High School Reunion. I have never even been to one until now. It was great seeing friends I hadn't seen for thirty years. So wierd how once you saw their name and looked at their face it all came back to you. No one changed so much that you couldn't tell who they were. I also helped with a fun Flash Mob dance that we had been rehearsing for the last couple of months with a small group of Pirates (that's our mascot- pretty cool, huh?) I dragged my husband along with me and since they had the big rivalry game (BYU/UTAH) the same night they had a TV for those die hard football fans- of which my husband is one. So at least he was intertained watching the game while I danced and talked, etc. Unfortunely the game was a blowout and his team lost. They even raffled off a Y and U football helmet. Fun times!

Here's a few more pics.

girls

more girls

The guys

Keeping the dance floor full.

Cyprus Pirates class of 1981.

Some more Back to School Digital Crafts

2011-09-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well I usually make my kids personalized back to school items, like backpack tags, teacher welcome back gifts,and my fun and easy standby Customized Composition Notebooks. This year I made a notebook for my daughter with the cute kit from Meredith Cardall called "Sunshine on a Cloudy Day" and the tutorial is on her blog HERE, I then realized that I told my niece last year when she saw the one I made my daughter that I would make one for her. Well better late than never I guess. Now I need to make some for my sons too.

Back to School Bunch

2011-09-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

My kids went back to school this week. I think they are glad to have more structure in their days and to start using their brains again. Now I just need to get myself back into some structured days without entertaining kids.

I told my boys I was going to walk to school with them like I always do so I can get pictures of them and Josh said "Oh Mom, do you have to walk with us?" He's a sixth grader you know and those kind of things embarrass him. I walked with them and took their pictures anyway.

Nick actually liked me being there. But he soon found his friends and he forgot all about me. And that's the way it should be.

Crusin Company Party

2011-08-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

Matt's work had a company party at Boondocks. It's a fun place that has mini race cars, bumper boats, bowling, arcade games, laser tag, etc. We also had a nice buffet lunch. We went for about 7 hours. I think everyone had fun. Here's a few pics.

Nick racing

Sydney and Madi in their purple ride.

Mad Matt of Thunderdome

Josh rounding the curve

Madi gets her turn in the cute little pink number.

Time for some water to cool them off.

It's time for some serious squirting

Ready!!!!

Set

Get Wet

Getting Dad really good

That was a fun way to spend a hot Saturday.

Container Craziness

2011-08-23T08:48:00.000-07:00

Well I keep all sorts of containers(much to my husband and kids dismay) But always in the back of my head I'm going to make something wilh it. Well I actually made a cute box for my friend Meredith Cardall for her birthday from a empty card box. I also got to use it as a blog post on her fun digi scrapbook blog. If you want to see how I did it go HERE and check it out.

Girls Camp Fun

2011-08-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

Well we had our girls camp last month and I am the camp director but I just haven't had the time to go through the millions of pictures until now. Well I won't post a million pictures because it takes too long. But needless to say we have fabulous girls in our ward who are kind, funny, generous and very spiritual.

I'll just post a few highlights of the week.

Silly

Super Silly

Super D duper Silly

making soap

Friendship Bracelets

Massages

Beautiful hairdos

Playing games (Oink, Meow, Grrrr anyone)

Roll Call

And don't forget the food.

Tara, Purple Queen to all the Purple Princesses

The gangs all here=mostly

And don't forget our fearless Priesthood leader Bishop Goates!

Fun was had by all.

A Little Mountain Getaway

2011-07-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

We went up to our townhouse in Midway for the Pioneer holiday and took along cousin Ella so Sydney could have a companion. I had to clean so we just made it working/relaxing trip.

We had a picnic at a park in Heber City.

Then we went back to Midway and went over to the Homestead resort and climbed the crater and took a tour down inside it to see the swimming hole. It was pretty hot it there(water temp 96 degrees). And pretty cool!

Hiking up

Looking up from below

Beautiful blue water

Then we found some fun Pioneer things to take pictures by

Then we met a little green guy we couldn't resist

The girls couldn't leave without getting a kiss.

Maybe it will work- guess Not!

CT call for my girl Meredith!

2011-07-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

She's fabulous so if you are interested shoot her an email. I'm on her Blog team and I love using here designs to make my projects.

Jewelry Fun

2011-07-19T10:01:00.000-07:00

I made a fun jewelry item with a digital kit from Meredith Cardall. Go to her blog to check out my tutorial.

Family 5K

2011-06-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

We decided to have our kids join us on the West Valley 5K this year. The boys just walked it but Sydney did a lot of running. I made it the whole way running but my time was slower than last year. Oh, well at least I did it. Matt bettered his time by a minute or more. All in all it was a fun way to spend a summery Saturday morning with our family.

I think I'm in Zion, No maybe it's the Grand Canyon

2011-06-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

Well we decided to take another little mini vacation in our beautiful state of Utah. So we loaded up our 5 four wheelers (which was a chore-we had to tip two up on two wheels to fit them all in) and loaded our car to the brim with clothes and food and headed south. We stayed in the town of Virgin just outside Zion's National Park. We had great views from our house where we stayed and we had riding trails from every side of the property. We did some super fun trails and then one trail that I almost had a panic attack on. Well I am afraid of driving up canyon roads and well to cut to the point this was like a canyon road only we were on four wheelers and the road was just big enough for one at a time and yes it was straight up the mountain to the top of the bluff. Seriously if I knew it was going to be like that before we headed out I would have not gone. I think not only was I scared but I was scared because my kids were doing it. On the way down we did have an incident that I almost can't think about because it could have been tragic. Josh swerved out on accident as he looked back and luckily there was a shoulder on the side by the cliff or he would have gone over. We will NEVER be doing that again. I think I still have trauma right now writing about it. But the rest of the trip was much better. We went up into Zion's and did tons of fun hikes and went through this crazy tunnel. But because of the weird weather we are having the Narrows hike was still running high water so we couldn't do that one. We got to swim in the pool each day after fun hikes and 4 wheeling trips. The last day we decided to run down to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. It took about 2 1/2 hours each way and we just stayed long enough to look around and take some pics but now we can say we went to the Grand Canyon. So all in all it was a fun trip.

The view out our front door

The fire pit area

Some friends we met along the way

Me on my hot pink ride

The Grand Canyon

At the pool-Awesome views!

S'Mores to finish off the night.

Good Night Moon

Oh, Sunny Day!

2011-06-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

It's finally been sunny around here and my daughter and I did a fun class at our local craft store. The letters were designed by Josee Pribbanow. We had fun painting them and we added paper and all sorts of fun embellishments. I used some digital papers designed by Meredith Cardall and the tutorial for the wood letters is on her blog.

I hope your day is SUNNY too!

The Girls will play when the Boys are away!

2011-06-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

Well my husband and boys left on a Father and Sons campout so my daughter and I decided to have a little girls night out. We went shopping, had a Jamba Juice, a little more shopping, went to dinner at Wingers, then had a lovely pedicure (Sydney's very first one) and got some oh so cute toes. Then we walked around IKEA to view all the loveliness and stopped for some awesome chocolate cake and princess cake(it was green- but

pretty good with it's cake, whipped cream and marzipan on top) at IKEA's food court. Then we tried to do some more shopping but the store was closed so we went home and got in our jammies and watched "Everafter" with Drew Barrymore. We got to sleep in and now I think we have to run out and do a tiny bit more shopping before the boys get home and then we are off to volleyball games.

School's out for the Summer

2011-06-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

I had my last day of substituting on Wednesday. It was the class that I started the year with and taught for two weeks (it's my son Josh's class) Now the kids are out and sitting on the couch watching TV. Well I've got some plans so they don't stay there the whole summer.

We have season passes to a water park. All three have weekly or couple day camps in July and August to attend and can you say

"Movie Time"

The big one being the last Harry Potter movie. Plus Transformers, X men, and any other fun movie we happen to be interested in. Plus my kids all got acoustic guitars for getting good grades so they will be trying those out. I'll see about lessons in the fall.

We are going on a little vacation next week to Zion's National Park to go hiking, 4 wheeling and a little laying by the pool.

So let Summer Begin!

Spring Cleaning

2011-05-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

My friend and digi designer extraordinaire, Meredith is having a spring clean out this weekend of all her fabulous digital designs. So go check it out HERE

She wore flowers in her hair

2011-05-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make something a little different with my digital designs and because it's May and there are suppose to be lots of flowers out (even though here it has been raining so much we hardly get to see them) I thought of flowers. They are the rage right now. I see them in every ones hair, so I used the cute new kit "Friends by Choice" by Meredith Cardall and Misty Cato to make these flowered hair clips for my daughter. If you want to see the step by step tutorial go check it out on Meredith's Blog.

Oh, Mother!

2011-05-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

It's mothers day and I was a little too lazy to create some cards on my own so I used a freebie quick page from The Ettes and made a card for my mom and my mother in law. Here they are full size as a scrapbook page and here's the pic of them printed out small and made into a card.

Have a Happy Mothers Day all you Mothers out there.

National Scrapbook Day is coming

2011-05-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

Meredith Cardall and Misty Cato have a new kit and it's on sale. Go check it out Here

I used the cute red gingham frame to make a quote to add to my kids teacher appreciation gifts.

Tripping

2011-04-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

For my kids spring break we decided to go down to southern Utah to Bryce Canyon and do a little hiking, 4 wheeling and some site seeing. We also went into the Grand Staircase National park and went through the narrow canyons.

We stayed at Ruby's Inn and they had a cute old fashioned town area that was perfect for old time photos

giddy up

Fun Family Trip!

Hybrid Basket

2011-04-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

I made this fun hybrid Easter basket with the kit Jumping Jellybeans from Meredith Cardall. If you want to check out the tutorial hop over to her blog click here.

Making Spring Baskets

2011-04-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

Well since it's not very springy outside I thought I'd make it springy inside. I used a new colaboration kit by SugarHillco and found this cute basket pattern on scrapbooketc.com. I printed out the digi papers on cardstock and then printed the pattern on the back of the papers. Cut out and printed some fun embellishments on cardstock. I adhered with glue and pop up foam. Then add a little Easter grass and it's ready for me to add a treat and give it away.

She's having a Sale

2011-04-11T06:53:00.000-07:00

If you are in the market for some fun digital designs Meredith is having a super de dooper sale. Go Here

Diary of a Wonderful Kid

2011-03-25T09:56:00.000-07:00

My son decided he just wants to go to a movie for his birthday since having a party is too babish. So lucky for us the Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 movie is coming out. I made his invitations around that theme. I used The Ettes kit "Dude" and "Back to School mini" to make the invitations.The stick figure elements were perfect for it. Then I made a little notebook out of card stock,staples and some Velcro dots.Then I printed each boys name on front so it looks like they have their own little diary. It makes the perfect little envelope for the invitation.

Calling all Digi Scrappers

2011-03-23T15:15:00.000-07:00

Just letting you know that my friend Meredith is having a Creative Team call. Read above. I've joined to make some of my fun hybrid projects and ad to her blog. If you are interested in joining a team just email her and let her know. You can click on the photo to enlarge it.

Card Tutorial

2011-03-21T19:28:00.000-07:00

Hey I made some cute cards with Meredith Cardall's kit Pea in a Pod. I'm now on her Creative Team. If you would like to know how to make them the tutorial is on her blog at Meredith Cardall Designs- click on the link here and when you get to her site click on Monday @ Mere's and you will see my tutorial with pictures too.

Birthday Surprises and New Scrapbook Adventures

2011-03-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

Well it's my Hubbys birthday today so last night l filled his car with balloons and candy so when he went to take some of the kids to school he got a big surprise. Then yesterday I decided to make a fun banner for him also. I wanted to use some new designs from one of my favorite designers "Meredith Cardall" and got a fun surprise as she asked me to come back on her Creative Team and start making some of my hybrid stuff. I do have a lot going with substitute teaching, property managing our townhouse in Midway and just running a household with 3 kids. But I miss creating so much so I'm going to jump on the train and see if I can keep up. So I looked at a few of her kits and used Love Is In the Air at Sunshine Studio Scraps for the paper and elements and Patchwork Of My Life for the alpha. Meredith's designs are all on sale for 30% off until Friday the 18th at Sunshine Studio Scraps so go check it out.I printed out the little cards and cut out the white space on the paper to reveal the candy names of HUGS and KISSES. I used eyelets on the corners to secure them, added a paper flower and a blue jewel. Then pulled some ribbon through to tie it up.

Totally Teeanager!

2011-03-07T11:16:00.000-08:00

This is the original and I turned it into this- below.

Well my daughter turned 13 last week. I now have a teenager in the house. Oh My!!! Because she said she didn't want a party (I think she thought she was too grown up for that) I decided to plan a SUPRISE party for her anyway. Her birthday was Wednesday and we went to dinner and had presents and all that normal stuff. I also used a freebie quick page (I think it's from Ellie Lash-not sure) to make a scrapbook page she could put on her wall. So when Friday rolled around I don't think she had any clue. Matt took her to the video store to pick a video and snacks for the night and when she came back. SURPRISE! They had fun with the surprise and Sydney was a little embarassed but liked it too. Then we went bowling and ate pizza. Then we came home and they ate more snacks and did a little karoke and some Just Dance on the Wii. Then up to her room for private girl stuff (that means talking, lots of talking) So heres's some pics. Hopefully she had a memorable 13th birthday.

The loot

family pie and ice cream

Goodie boxes for all the guests

Skittles make great props. They match the colors too.

The Gangs all here.

Gotcha!

Bowling

Laughing

Singing

Dancing

Who could ask for more than that.

Back from Mexico

2011-02-07T15:20:00.000-08:00

Well a friend of mine asked me to post my pictures here and not just on Facebook since she's not on that huge time waster(but kinda fun) site. So here goes- We visited Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas while cruising on the cruise line Holland America. This was our kids Christmas present. A gift for us all actually. The food was fabulous (a little too fabulous if you ask my pants) and the workers were great. the whole cruising thing was pretty great except for one night of intense winds and a lot of rocking. But no one got sick so all was good. The first stop was PV and we took a smaller boat to a secluded area. My husband and Nick did a little snorkeling. Then we went to a beach area that we had to get on a much smaller boat and wade into the beach(no dock here) Unfortunately getting back on the little boat became a little hazardous to my bag and camera as a big wave came and knocked me and Nick over. I thought my camera might be ruined but after a few days of drying time it seems to be back from the dead. YEA! On the way to the cove we saw a bunch of humpback whales and they came CLOSE to our boat. A little too close for my husband. What an awesome experience. I got some good pics of that. On the way back we saw a bunch of dolphins but with no camera I had to rely on my 10 year old son and his camera abilities to get some pics. He got one good one. After the camera incident I had to grab his camera at various places and snap some more pics. We took a tour of Mazatlan and then went to the beach to relax but the vendors would not let us be so we had to leave. Then at Cabo we went and swam with the dolphins (this was Nicks special request) It was great and we got some great pictures too. The kids said it was the greatest vacations because it was like 4 trips in one (the cruise, PV, Maz, and Cabo) Now my husband wants to go on a Caribbean cruise.

Josh got a spit in the face with his kiss

the whales

The dolphins followed our boat

playing on the beach

Our cabin stewards made new towel animals for us daily

Yum!

Woot Woot

2011-01-24T15:28:00.000-08:00

I actually made a scrapbook page. And not one that was premade either. I was looking through my pictures and came across this adorable photo of my kids o so long ago and just had to put it somewhere. So here it is. I used Meredith Cardall's kit "Happy Scrappy" Last week I printed all the digi scrapbook pages that I've made so far. It was about $140 bucks but well worth it. I had a fear that my computer would crash or something and I'd loose them so I will start printing them off a little more often so there isn't close to fifty to print out at once. It will seem a lot cheaper that way too.

By the way the the saying on the page is a crazy song I sang to my kids. It starts as high a you want (usually 5) and then it goes. There were 5 in the bed and the other one said roll over, roll over. Then they all rolled over and one fell out, there were 4 in the bed and the little one said roll over, roll over, etc, etc, etc. Then when you get to one it says. And the little one said "Good Night."

New Year-Just a little late

2011-01-11T16:37:00.000-08:00

I finally got my 2011 digital calendar done. I used a premade one from The Ettes. Now I just need to get it printed and off to Dad, Grandma, Grandpa and one for me. I'm previewing them backwards.

I cheated a little on this one and used a picture from this years sledding trip. Too cute to pass up.

Wow,has it been THAT long?

2011-01-07T13:35:00.000-08:00

My poor neglected blog. Well life is happening at break neck speed so I don't have a lot of computer time anymore. I'm barely keeping up with taking my millions of pictures each month(my husband thinks I take a million-especially when I wait until there is about 300 images on my card and take them in to be developed and it ends up costing over a hundred bucks) Well I have to have 2-3 of each picture just in case I need them for scrapbooks for each kid don't I. Well right now I'm on a 3 week substitute job for a 3rd grade class and I love them. It's my kids school so I get to take them to school each day and see them a bit more.

We had a great Christmas- pics to follow someday. And we are gearing up for our Mexican Riviera Cruise at the end of this month. We decided for a Christmas present for the whole family it would be a lot more memorable to take a trip together. Our kids were so excited to get passports. They must want to be jet setters LOL.

Well hopefully I can steal time to finish my 2011 digital calendars that I started in December so I have something to share on my blog and hang on my wall too.

Becoming an American

2010-11-15T13:15:00.000-08:00

Well last week I got to take my friend Tina to her citizenship ceremony here in Salt Lake. I didn't really know what to expect as I've never been to one. On the way there she was so excited and yet she said she was so emotional. She started to cry and I finally realized what a great day this would be for anyone. We take our country and freedoms too much for granted.

A little back story on Tina. She is from the west African country of Cameroon. She was beaten and put in jail for speaking against their government. She finally escaped and got to Germany. She had internal injuries that she had some surgery for in Germany. She lived in a refugee house when my father and mother in law met her. They taught her the gospel of Jesus Christ and she got baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. My in laws left Germany and Tina was left there. They got a letter from her telling them that she was deported back to Cameroon. Political refugees can only stay in European countries for so long and then they are sent back. Tina said that she feared for her life so she ran from the plane as soon as it landed and ran into Nigeria, a neighboring country, and was hiding out there. When I heard her letter I just cried. I couldn't believe that is this day and age people still lived this way.

Well luckily there was a woman in Utah who came to know Tina in Germany and she had helped other people to flee their countries. She arranged for Tina to get a passport and a plane ticket to American. Tina told me how scary it was when she came into New York and she was still afraid that someone was going to come and get her and take her back. She finally arrived in Utah. She stayed with some relatives of my in laws and it was arranged for her to have some more surgery. They got doctors and hospitals to donate their services for free. Because Tina had been beaten she had a huge tumor in her uterus. Because she loves children so much she was concerned and told them to save as much as possible so she could have children. Well that was not to be. Tina found out that in Germany they had taken out one of her ovaries. And everything was so damaged it had to removed. Tina had a super hard time coming to the realization that she wouldn't have biological kids as in Africa to not have children was almost thought of as a curse. I told her that in America a man will love you for who you are and not if you can have children.

Around that time is when Tina came to live with us. My daughter was about 3 and my first son was 1. Tina became my son's second mom. He would put his hand up to her and say Tine Tine for her to pick him up. She lived with us for 6-8 months and then went to live in Vernal for a while then back to Salt Lake. She got her own apartment living with a local family. And now has her very own apartment.

She then got her CNA degree and worked in many elder care facilities until she hurt her back. Then she started college and got her Associates Degree this last May. I was at her graduation of course. IT was a hard road but she wanted to get her education.

Tina feels like she's my sister and not just my friend. She's had a hard life but she's pretty tough and I hope that life just gets better and better for her.

I told her that now she's a real African American. LOL!

Here's some pics from her ceremony

Pinewood Derby-Three posts in one day-Whew! Almost caught up.

2010-11-13T17:38:00.000-08:00

Well my birthday night was spent with my family. My boys had their big pinewood derby and they had some sweet looking cars. It was quite the effort between the boys, Dad and Mom. But we finally got it done and they looked better than ever.

Josh got 3rd overall and he was pretty stoked.

Everyone came home with a trophy and got a treat so all is well in the Catmull household.

B-day stuff

2010-11-13T17:26:00.000-08:00

Well for my birthday my husband had a beautiful cake made for me (those flowers are made of sugar and who knows what else-but they were tasty too) Red Velvet inside-YUM!

For my gift he had one of our newest family pictures made into a painting. Awesome gift. The pic it not the greatest but I'll take another one once it gets framed and is on my wall.

Museum Madness

2010-11-13T17:20:00.000-08:00

I decided to take my kids to the Museum of Natural History on the University of Utah campus. Not only for a great activity but the first Monday of each month it is free and that's talking my kind of language. Sydney brought a friend Selena and I think they had a good time.

Catching Up is Hard to Do.

2010-11-11T15:53:00.000-08:00

Well yes I've been a slacker but in my defense I have been teaching a lot, working out a lot and just not computering a lot.

Anyway, here's some pics of Halloween time.

Josh as a bum or HOBO as love to say.

Nick as a Werewolf (again) he loves anything to do with Wolves.

Craziness

More Craziness

Maybe the most craziness. Me as a wild witch.

Out on the Candy Hunt

My good little Fairy.

Lil Red and the Pink Fairy

The good Fairy the bad fairy and the little girl in between.

Since they are sooooo old now this may be their last trick or treating. We'll see about that next year.

Monster Mania

2010-10-09T19:13:00.000-07:00

Well I've seen these dolls and I just HAVE to have them and of course they are sold out all over. I think that's the company's plan to make them hard to get so you want them more. I've seen them at some online stores but they are WAY overpriced. I'm a doll lover and these ones are not only cute but fun and creepy too. I will keep on the prowl for them. I specially need the Frankenstein one and the Blue Lagoona one.

I did get the Vampire one for my daughter and I might need one for myself too.

Girl Fun!

2010-10-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

I've been making some fun things for all the girls going up to Midway for a girls retreat next weekend. Can't show too much or it'll ruin the surprise.

Family Photo Session

2010-10-04T14:00:00.000-07:00

We had some new photos taken and here are a few of my favs. Natalie Lyman is my photographer is you would like to check her out.

Freebie Flying

2010-09-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

Well I've found a new site to go looking for digital freebies. It's here and from there I found this great site that has all these great graphics and I made a little quick highlight with some of the darling pics. You can check out the blog here

It's not the 4th of July?

2010-09-07T14:46:00.000-07:00

Well yes I'm actually the slowest scrapper around. These are some 4th of July pics and I used them in some cute quick pages from "The Ettes" and it only took 2 months to get them done. I know it's lame but hey I at least did some.

Clipboards Cookies and Sadness.

2010-09-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

Two days before school was suppose to start last week I got a call to substitute for my son's 5th grade class. His teacher's 21 yr old son had been killed in a car accident and needless to say she needed to be elsewhere. So I had to try and set up the class and make the plans for the 7-8 days before she would return. I've never been a real teacher just a sub but willing to give it a good try. The crazy thing is I was asked to do the "Back to School" night too for the parents which was 4 days after school started. Because I was a manager in retail for so long I'm sort of use to talking in front of people and it doesn't really make me nervous. I just didn't have a lot of answers for them. I hope I did OK.

Well the class is great and I've really enjoyed my time with them. They feel like my class and I'm going to be sad to leave them. The teachers younger son who is 10 is also in our class and came back on Thursday and Friday. We made cards for both the teacher and her son and then we decorated the room with balloons and a big welcome back sign on the board and all the kids signed it too.

She will be back on Tuesday and I will be working half a day to get her caught up on all we've done and make the transition.

So I decided that my son would bring her a few welcome back gifts. We had already made zucchini bread and planned on taking it the first day of school but since she wasn't there then we changed it up a little. We made some big batches of cookies (two varieties) so we bagged some up for her. Then added a box of pencils for the classroom. I made the cute tag from a premade album page- I just made it small. Then I made the fun clipboard by using the kit "Study Hall" from Krystal Hartley. I mod podged it on the plain clipboard and added lots of fun ribbon. I hope our small gifts will help make her sadness a little less noticable for at lease a little while.

Back to School Cool

2010-08-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

Well my daughter who is starting middle school this week actually asked me to make her a personalized composition notebook. I love making these with all my fun digi designs then printing and mod podging them on the book and adding the fun touches of ribbon and extras. I used the new kit by Amy Stoffel called Preppy Girl.(she has a preppy boy one too that I bought) sooo perfect for school stuff.

Mini Vacation

2010-08-12T16:39:00.000-07:00

Well we got back today from our condo in Midway. We did a little bit of boating, movie watching and just all around relaxing.

They stayed on the tube for hours

A little down time.

Family Reuion

2010-08-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

Well it was almost two weeks ago but I finally had some time to post some pics.

Each family wore the same color so we could tell who belonged to whom. Well we were the grays.

Lots of grays.

Nichole and cute little Spencer.

The girls doing some crafts

the BOYS doing some wrestling

My Mom and her brothers and sisters.

Havin a Good Ol Time

2010-07-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

I have been for a week now de-junking my house. For me I have to do it right, so that means, one bag for trash, one for yard sale and another for keep (unfortunately I still have at least a weeks worth left to do). Well it is a never ending job but I do find some perks every once in a while. Like finding these great old time photos of my childhood friend Shane. We loved to go to Lagoon amusement park and we got these fun pictures to remember it. I'm pretty sure we were about 15-17 yrs old.

Sweet Thank U.

2010-07-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

I made some thank you treats for my daughters young women leaders who did so much to make girls camp so fun this year. I used the new kit My Shiny Happy Today by Meredith Cardall at FS. I just printed the design on regulare copy paper then cut to fit a regular chocolate bar and fastened with tape.

Cherry Limeade Surprise

2010-07-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

I made this cute album with a piece of cardboard found in a sheet set. I used the darling new kit "Cherry Limeade" from Meredith Cardall to make the pages that I mod podged on the outside of the album. The cute silver words are from Amy Stoffel.

Back view. I also used American Crafts ribbon to finish it off.

All the pages inside is a quick premade album also by Meredith Cardall. Right HERE

They are on sale right now so HURRY.

All the pictures I used were from swimming on the 4th and the Bray Family camping trip.

Pretty in Pink-N-Black-N-White!

2010-07-10T12:41:00.000-07:00

I actually redecorated my daughters room a couple of months ago but just now thought to take pictures.

She wanted a more sophisticated room. She picked the colors and I think they look great together. I'm one of those bargain hunter/hoarder kind of people so when I see something at Target, IKEA or WalMart for REALLY cheap I buy it even if I don't need it right then. Most of my bargain finds I work into my house sooner or later. The glass chandelier in the corner I got at Target a long time ago and it fit into her room perfectly. The round mirror and silver magnet board(just added a fun ribbon) are from IKEA. The big pink pillow from Target along with the comforter and sham we got for like $20 bucks on clearance. The fuzzy pink pillow is from Walmart. When I'm on a mission to recreate a space I find things from all over the place.

Don't know if you can see it well enough or not but the curtains are black polka dot and they are crushed velvet. Got those at Target along with the body pillow and zebra pillow cover.

Originally her dresser was a boring brown and I painted it white. It was from a local thrift store (but new) I just added the glass/crystal pulls on the drawer to coordinate with the room. The LOL is a magnet board too. (another Target $4 find)

We got the desk from Target online a few years ago. We added the great shelf unit from IKEA and used the black bins to hide all her stuff. The fun pink chair isn't quite the bright pink but we got it a couple years back at Big Lots for about $6-8. Then of course we got some great Twilight posters and some cheap black frames from Walmart.

Just a peek at one of my other hobbies.

Summer- School= Chores!

2010-07-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

I decided since my kids are out of school I'm going to take advantage of their time and put them to work. Ha, Ha. But really I am. I created this darling Chore Chart with the fabulous kit from The Ettes & Co. It's HERE so check their super fun digi designs out.

I'd follow them anywhere they go, they are that good as designers. I made the weekly chores that are permanent with the bathroom cleaning that changes weekly. Then I made a daily one to get my kids up and going. While I'm at the gym they have to get their daily requirements done and put the corresponding pictures on the list. Then I made an award that I will give out weekly and that child will get to pick the dinner and dessert of their choice. I also made some little shirts that I will post on their door to their room if I see clothes lying around and that will be a mark against them for that week.

We will only be using it for the next two months but I think I might get them into a good habit of getting up and getting things done. Cross your fingers.

Eclipse Week

2010-07-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

At least my skin tone matches Jacob. But the smile is out of place.

Is this a better solemn broody face?

Sydney and her Jacob.

This is two of the characters from the movie Eclipse. Demetri (Voulturi) and Leah(werewolf girl).

There was a fun free event at a local park last Saturday night and we took the kids and got TONS of free stuff like eclipse tee shirts, buttons, posters and more. Plus we played games and helped a local radio station and they gave us all free CD's. I got Kings of Leon.

telling making of the movies stories

Kind of a cutie and he's British so he has an oh so yummy accent.

Ah yes the girls had to get the names of their beloved tatooed on various body parts.

Nick just got the werewolf effect.

A good time was had by all.

Then Tuesday night we got tickets for the whole family to go to the midnight premier to Eclipse. Keep in mind we are still in school and had to get up by 8 to get to school (including me who was helping with field day) We got the great collector mugs,candy, popcorn the whole kit and cabootle. Good movie and no one even thought to fall asleep. We got to bed at 3 AM but it will be a great memory to look back at the crazy Twilight fans we are.

Real Live Princess

2010-07-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

My daughter did a report on Marie Antoinette and had to dress up like her while giving that said report. I think she looks beautiful. Wow do they grow up fast.

FUN RUN

2010-06-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

I just ran my very first 5K. And just to let you know I'm not a runner. I'm a FAST walker but not a runner. My husband and I decided to try it out. Two of my sisters were running it so I thought I'd give it a try too. I usually walk 5-7 miles 4-5 days a week so I thought I'd be OK. I'm excited to say I came in 2nd place in my age group (there probably wasn't very many in that group Ha, Ha!) One of my sisters came in 3rd place in her age group too. We had fun and they gave out a ton of prizes. Maybe next year we will get our kids in on this one. My sister took most of the pics so I will have to wait to post more of those.

So overall I thought it was fun and a good way to spend a Saturday morning.

Primary Fun.

2010-06-12T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well every Saturday night I sit at my computer and get my stuff ready for singing time with our Primary kids on Sunday. I make a ton of visuals and try to make it fun. We are learning one song called Follow the Prophet (it has 9 verses-holy cow) We have learned it almost perfect so as a reward to sing it perfectly I got a huge box of rope licorice and tied it together to form a long rope or rod (hold to the rod) and as they walk around and sing they will hold signs that have prophets names, so as to follow the prophets. Then afterwards I will cut off a piece of the licorice for each child. I try to make it fun while they are learning too.

My friend from Texas who is a digital scrapbook designer, Krystal Hartley just made a kit that is perfect for primary. I made this cute header with the kit. So if you are needing some fun graphics go check her out at The Sweet Shoppe. The direct link to this kit is here "BigKidsChurch"

Teacher scrapbook DONE!

2010-06-09T15:22:00.000-07:00

Red Butte Garden done with Meredith Cardall's kit Wild Dandilions

Walking Field Trip done with Meredith's Giving Thanks kit

last page done with Meredith's mini kit Apple Basket

Well I am finished all except for printing it out as my printer decided to run out of colored ink as I was printing them. Dang- wasted 6 photo papers. Well off to Costco to get more ink so I can be Totally and Completely DONE! I used Meredith Cardall's kits for the whole book. Love her. The title page is below this post and there is another post with lots of orange pages below that are also part of the book.

Teacher gift

2010-06-08T15:42:00.000-07:00

Well I started a scrapbook as a teacher gift for my son's second grade teacher. We have three weeks left so I need to get in gear. Here is the first page. I'll post the others as I get them done. I used one of the newest kits from Meredith Cardall called Beach Cottage. It's a colab kit at Elemental Scraps. I'm going to use it to scrap a bunch of my beachy San Diego pics too.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

2010-05-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

the family at Sea World

Mission Beach- our condo was on the bay side- very nice!

some local shopping

Shamu of course

perfect shot

scary fish

Sydney doing some light reading/ Diva Style!

Nick got buried at the beach

Josh relaxing

tiger at the Zoo

Zoo

Lion at the Wild Animal Park

love those giraffes

overlooking the savannah at the Wild Animal Park

kids on the boat we took around the bay

and some of the beautiful plant we saw all around us.

We had a fabulous time in San Diego.We saw the sites, got some sun, walked the sand. Too bad we had to come back to the real world. I took tons and tons of pics but just put a very few here. I guess I'll have to do some scrapping and use them all up.

California Dreaming

2010-05-15T07:13:00.000-07:00

Well we are heading out for San Diego for a family vacation and I am so excited. It was a last minute decision and we really don't have the money but we do need the time away from the responsibilies of work and school so we are doing it. We rented a condo on the beach and then we are all ready to hit the Zoo, SeaWorld and the Wild animal park with a lot of just laying on the beach thrown in.

Hopefully I'll take a lot of great pics (hint, this pic is off the internet not my work but we can pretend it's mine K.)

I did it-a couple pages that is!

2010-05-11T07:04:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a little 8X8 book for my son's teacher and I actually made some pages using the newest ki by Meredith Cardall called Brighton Lane at Faith Sisters. http://faithsisters.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4756

Easter Festivities

2010-04-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

Dying Eggs

A few Easter Eggs and a Lot of Kids.

Fun egg hunting in Grandma Bray's backyard.

An Exit of Sorts.

2010-03-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

Well it's no secret that I just haven't been doing any creating lately. So sadly I resigned from Krystal Hartley's Creative Team. There are so many talented people who are clammoring to be on her team I felt guilty taking up space. Don't get me wrong I LOVE HER DESIGNS but I wasn't doing my part so it was time to move on. I sort of feel the same about Meredith Cardall. She is a great designer and I love, love, love her designs- she is actually getting better and better. She told me I could hang on as long as I want and I might just take her up on her offer. I start something then think it sucks and don't finish. With Easter around the corner I might take a day and try to do something. We'll see if that happens. Send me some creative love. I need it!

With going to the gym for 2 hours a day, substituting a ton and running my kids to and from orchestra, volleyball, piano, scouts, etc. I don't have a lot left, but just know it's in my heart just not in the real world.

Thanks Krystal for your kindness over the years. I will keep my eye on your fabulous designs.

Something New

2010-03-05T12:50:00.000-08:00

Well as you can tell I have not been in the mood to blog. I'm not a big feeling blogger and since I have no creative juices flowing lately with no projects completed there has just been nothing to say.

I have stumbled upon something I'm sure you have all seen and probably done a million years ago but I just started and I like it.

Beads, Beads and more beads.

I started by making the cute watch band bracelets and then started making some earrings and bracelets.

For my daughters B-day party this weekend we will be making bracelets and matching earrings so I went a little crazy and bought like a zillion beads.

"Well a Girls got to Have a Choice" I always say.

It Starts with Heart

2010-01-23T19:03:00.000-08:00

I created these fun invitations for my daughters big 12th birthday party with the new kit "It starts with Heart" by Meredith Cardall. You can get the kit at FS or ES. I printed the design on photo paper, rounded corners, punched a hole and tied to a bottle of fingernail polish. Since the girls will be doing a lot of fun girlie things like painting fingernails, makeovers, etc. I thought it would be a creative way to make an invitation.

Music to Live by

2010-01-17T17:11:00.000-08:00

Well I decided to finally open one of the presents my husband gave me for Xmas. It is super cool turntable(for those old fashioned things called records) and a CD player, tape player, plus radio that can transfer all these into MP3 files. Plus I can listen to my MP3 player through it's speakers. Well I pulled out my old records and tapes from jr. high and high school and beyond. Wow! I spend 2 or more hours just listening to memories. Funny how music takes you right to a time in your life. My taste in music is a little eclectic. I would say I listen to Alternative but way back when I liked a little of everything. Take some time to listen to the music you love. I did and I plan on doing more of it in the near future.

Heart Day Projects

2010-01-16T17:05:00.000-08:00

Krystal Hartley released a new kit today called "The Very Thought of You" done with Scrapkitchen Designs and I actually made some hybrid projects with it. I've been a very bad CT member lately and need to make up for it so I made a bunch. It's a little early for Valentines but never to early to say "I love you" to the ones you love. I used the papers and elements and then printed on photo paper. Cut out and added ribbon, ink, eyelets, and lots of sweets.

"The Lovely Bones"

2010-01-15T16:29:00.000-08:00

My husband got us free movie preview passes to this movie on Tuesday. Date night in the middle of the week-Yeah! It was a good movie but pretty sad. I did like it even though it was sad. It had whimsical parts and creepy parts and heartwarming parts too. It makes you want to keep your kids close and enjoy them as much as possible. Last weekend we rented My Sisters Keeper about a girl dying of cancer (5 hankie movie for me). My husband suggested we see a comedy next time- 2 sad movies in a row is just too much.

Scary Thing Happened on the way to the Condo

2010-01-06T17:39:00.000-08:00

Well on the way up the lovely snowy, wintery canyon road to clean the condo I decided to hit some ice and have a crazy ride all over the road (getting very close the edge that goes down to a very cold river) and then hitting head on into the cement barrier in the middle of the freeway. Well I was only going about 50 MPH but you would think that all that spinning would slow me down but I don't think it did. Luckily I have this huge big metal bar thing on the front of my Tahoe and it ripped it right off. My license plate was a wadded up piece of metal but the funny thing is you can hardly tell we had a wreck. We have to take it in tomorrow to the body shop to see if the frame is bent(if so they total your car- which would be nice to get a new car but sad because I like my car) Luckily no other car was coming at that time or I might not be writing this lovely blog post. I sort of feel stiff all over but nothing a hot bath won't cure. My husband and I were blessed today I guess(He may not want to ride with me again though LOL) Hope your day was better than mine!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2009-12-22T11:52:00.000-08:00

Well I just haven't had the time to blog lately and haven't felt like it when I have had time. Trying to get all the Christmas things in before time runs out. Anyway here's a glimpse at my Christmas Cards for those who I didn't send one to. I used the darling premade cards by Meredith Cardall using the fabulous kit by Krystal Hartley. Premade- that should tell you how much effort it took me. But hey they are cute and I always like easy. So if I don't blog again for a while, have a great Christmas.

Project overload

2009-12-02T14:08:00.000-08:00

Well I made this cute Christmas countdown for my friend Brookes birthday last month and was all stoked to make some more and just realized I keep giving myself too many projects to do. So sorry to my sisters and friends who I was planning on giving them to. But you can look at this one and see how cute they were. LOL!!! Sorry that was mean, but I have a birthday party, a baptism, getting Xmas cards done and sent out and my sons baptism book to do all this week and of course a house to dejunk and clean(big barfarama!) I'm in freakout mode right now. So that's why I'm at the computer playing on my blog to get the stress all out. I think it may have worked. On to my list!

I just noticed you might not be able to tell what I did. Well I used a mini muffin pan with 24 holes. I put little things on the bottom of each hole like "Make Xmas Cookies" or "Be a secret Santa for someone you don't know", etc. You get the idea. I mod podged the activities on the pan as well as some patterned paper on the top and added a few Xmas stickers and punched holes with a nail and hammer and added the ribbon. Then I made circles with green cardstock and numbered from 1-24 and covered it with diamond glaze to make the top shiny and to give it more strength. Then I hot glued magnets on the back of each circle. So for each day of December you take the number off you do that activity until you get all the way to Christmas.

Ode to New Moon

2009-11-21T16:12:00.000-08:00

Yes I'm one of those crazy Twilight fans and saw the midnight showing with a bunch of sisters and my daughter. Then after a few hours of sleep went with my whole family to see it again. Just as good the second time. And I'm a big Jacob fan- what a hottie!

Green Eggs and Ham Anyone?

2009-11-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Well for Halloween I made orange pumpkin pancakes and I suggested green eggs but no one wanted them until the next day Nick said "you know that thing you talked about? I want that." I said green eggs and he said "Yes, Green Eggs and Ham!" So I pulled out my handy green food coloring (I use my colors to add that perfect touch to a favorite treat or meal) It is a trick my Mom taught me when I was a kid. I remember for my birthday getting green cream of wheat and pink milk (my favorite colors at the time- come to think of it- they are still my favorite colors) Anyway I cut up some ham sandwitch meat and added to the gorgeous looking green eggs and Nick was as happy as a clam or should I say as happy as Sam.

A Hauntingly Fun Season

2009-11-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

Well we've had fun picking and carving pumpkins, going to see the Witches at Gardner Village with cousins, going to church parties, school parades and the good old Trick or Treating with friends in which my kids have all graduated to "the pillowcase" and are all on their own. They even went for about 2 hours and got more candy than they sould eat in a year but I'm sure they will manage to eat it within the week- except for Sydney who saves it forever. We actually had to clean out her room and get rid of last Halloweens leftovers and some Easter candy too. So this will be a long post with tons of picks. I haven't had time to play with scrapbooking for awhile so it's just photos for now.

Cheers to You Too!

2009-10-20T12:53:00.000-07:00

If you want to check out my latest Krystal Hartley project go HERE.

Cookie Jar Love

2009-10-20T07:12:00.000-07:00

Well I made this altered/hybrid cookie jar with the great new kit Giving Thanks by Meredith Cardall and AngieKovacs at ES. You get some free quick pages this week if you buy the kit (yeah!!!) Anyway I created the design and then printed on photo paper. Put the insert inside and then added ribbon, flowers, brads, etc. This is a cookie jar I got at WalMart for about 6 bucks and then you can make new inserts for each season or holiday. It would be a great gift too,

Cuddle Monkeys

2009-10-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

Just had to share with you the newest kit from Meredith Cardall and Bella Gypsy coming to ES on Monday the 19th. It's called Mr. Cuddle Monkey. I used Meredith's darling Quick pages that you can purchase or are free with the purchase of her kit.

Witchy Poo

2009-10-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

Well I made a fun game for primary with little felt hats I got at the craft store. I used the new kit Boo 2 U from Meredith Cardall to make the cute bands(digital paper cut in strips and then inked) and the fun elements and numbers I attached to them(LOVE THESE!). I tried glue and glue dots to adhere the paper and then just ended up stapling the band to the hat. I used foam squares to adhere the elements and after punching out the numbers with a circle punch and gluing on the circle cardstock I added eyelets and ribbon and used the cutest little safety pins from Making Memories to hook the number to the hat.

Click on the photo to see it larger and much clearer.

I then had the primary kids I teach music to pick a hat and each number matched a song that we would sing. I added a little candy corn element and placed it underneath one and the child who picked that one got to choose whatever song they wanted. I can use the hats for any choosing game. I absolutely love Halloween and all the fun colors and costumes. I will definately have to use this cute digital kit to create some fun pages with the cosutmes I'm sure to see this year(my kids are on the lookout for that perfect costume.) I'm usually a witch every year to scare the kiddies who come to my door but I may just change it up this year and find something new.

Freebies ??????

2009-10-03T22:18:00.000-07:00

Did I get your attention. This photo is just a sample of what's in store. So if you want to get some fun freebies that I made with Krystal Hartley's kits you will have to go check out her team blog HERE on Sunday Oct 4th to find out all about it.

Calling all Blogger Friends

2009-10-03T17:47:00.000-07:00

Well I don't know if any of you have gone on the settings and clicked on the new updated image editor or not. Basically it's suppose to make adding pictures so much easier. Well I use MSN and when I went and changed it to the new update I suddenly couldn't do anything on my blog. I went and switched it back to the old way and still nothing. Well I went on the search to see if there was any info about it. I saw something about going to Internet Explorer. Well when I go to my blog from IE it works just fine and the new photo uploader is fabulous. But alas when I'm in MSN(my main homepage) it doesn't load so it just gives me that little rectangle box at the bottom right of the screen but it doesn't load. If anyone knows how to get it fixed I'd love some help. I'd hate to have to go over to Internet Explorer everytime I want to post on my blog.

Krystal's Digi Anniversary

2009-10-01T13:46:00.004-07:00

She's one of the best so go check it out HERE Lots of fun stuff in store this weekend.

Peaches for Free.

2009-09-22T13:42:00.001-07:00

Well you probably don't remember the peaches song but Hey, I do.
Anyway I had 7-8 buckets of peaches off 2 of my 3 little trees and I have been frantically trying to take care of them. Sunday I made peach muffins. Yesterday I froze about 12 bags with 4 cups in each,bottled 30 jars for our food storage. Today so far I have made 3 peach pies- yes with homemade crust YUMMMMM! and now I am getting geared up to make about 8 peach cobblers- in which I will be giving to friends and neighbors as I don't want to see another peach for a while. So if any more peaches come off our trees I will be handing them out to anyone who drops by.

Forgot a few!

2009-09-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

Well I am just unpacking from last weeekends trip and I realized I forgot a few projects that I made. Last year after Halloween I bought a bunch of foam pumpkin cutouts on clearance. I figured I could make some albums with them. Here's a few with just a hint of what I will do with them. No pictures are on any yet.

Last weekend projects

2009-09-19T12:34:00.001-07:00

Well I did finish a few things this last week. I decorated some mini mailboxes, I finally put the photos in my "I Am" album but I still haven't figured out how to bind it properly. And I used paper, paint, mod podge, ribbon and flowers to dress up a naked album. I also made a mini album for visitors to sign in for our condo but of course I left it up there and forgot to take a picture of it(and it was the cutest of all) Well I will try to remember to take a picture of it next time I'm there.

Welcoming Fall

2009-09-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

I made this wall hanger with the new kit Sweet September by Krystal Hartley at Sweet Shoppe Designs. It's on sale today so go and grab it.

Scraptaculous!

2009-09-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

I know, I know enough of the scrapping lingo attached to everything. Very cheesy but hey that's me. Anyway I got back from my scrapbooking retreat yesterday and fun was had by all- well I guess I can't speak for them all- but hey, I had fun. I organized my zillion pictures that I saved up for the past year and they spanned a two year period(yikes). I went for a two hour walk with my sister. I tried not to eat anyone elses snacks---I brought some healthier choices-raw almond, craisins, yogurt covered raisins and a few dark chocolate bites. Finished a mini book. Used paper, paint and mod podge to redo an album. Made a mini album for the condo so visitors can sign. and then I made some Halloween albums out of fun foam.(I'll post pics of these later)
While watching some of the best movies ever made. Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Breakfast Club, Ferris Buelers Day Off, How to Loose a Guy in 10 Days, well it goes, on and on. You get the picture. I took some pics of the fun girlies that came to the retreat- hope I didn't get someone with their mouth open- just kidding.

Hi Ho Hi Ho It's off to Scrap I Go!

2009-09-10T07:17:00.001-07:00

I'm getting ready to head out of town for my first scrapbook retreat weekend at our condo. We have about 20 crazy girls ready to get some scrapping done along with eating a lot of snacks, watching a ton of 80's movies, telling tons of crazy stories an NOT getting a ton of sleep. I'll take some pics to share with you on Monday. I will be doing more retreats with this same group in Feb/March but if you live around the SL area and we have enough we can start another group too. Well, off to the gym and then endless errands so I will be ready to leave tomorrow.
TTFN that's "ta ta for now" for you non speakers. LOL

More Dino Mite Stuff

2009-09-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

Well Meredith has a new kit out at Faith Sisters and Elemental Scraps called Mr. Roary Saurus. It's on sale at both sites. I made a few things with it. Lots of FUN!

Dino Mite!

2009-09-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

Well here's a little sneek peak of a new kit of Meredith Cardall. I'll tell you more about it on Monday.

Do you smell something Fishy?

2009-08-28T16:15:00.000-07:00

We just got back from vacation and I used this cute pic of my boys going on their very first fishing trip. They both caught some fish too. Josh got two and Nick caught one. All of them about 15 inches long. Not to shabby for their first time out.
I used the new kit Aiden's Outdoor Adventure from Meredith Cardall at FS now and Monday at ES. It on sale too so go pick it up if you have some boys, or dirt or both in your life.

Backpack Nametags

2009-08-21T17:13:00.000-07:00

Well every year I make backpack tags for my kids backpack and luckily Krystal Hartley made a new kit called "Study Hall" that was perfect. It will be available on Saturday at SSD. I made the tags and printed out then mod podged to chipboard. I added eyelets, inked and put on the cute little ball chains.

Fun Bookmarks

2009-08-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

I made these quick and easy hybrid bookmarks with the new kit Little Leapfrogs:Lisa & Lou by Meredith Cardall at FS
I just printed on cardstock right from my computer and then cut some chipboard the same size and then mod podged it all together. Then I added eyelets and ribbon. I also inked the edges.

Baby Love

2009-08-21T11:54:00.001-07:00

Well I made this bag and card to hold the gift for my neice Nichole's new baby boy, Spencer. I hope I get it to her before she sees this post. Anyway I used the kit "Austen" by Meredith Cardall- She has a matching girl one too called "Emma" Check them out at FS or ES