Life Unscripted

I do believe this is a first on my blog! A layout with pictures of me, as an adult!! LOL Granted the photos are a couple of years old, but that is my babies and me. :-)

I am using Authentique's Loyal paper collection again today. I am loving the greens and blues, and the patterns too and how they coordinate so well with my pictures. I also love that the kids are wearing matching hoodies, aren't they adorable? The pictures were taken at our favorite Metro park, gosh I miss that park! I am going to use this layout to challenge you to scrap yourself.

Did you notice my new blinkie over there-----> I have joined the October 2012 LOAD (Layout a Day) Challenge over at Let's Scrap. Ia m looking forward to completing 31 layouts/cards in one month! (Wish me luck!! LOL)

Thanks for stopping by!!
Until later~

Grandma and the Cousins

I have been playing around with different styles of layouts lately and having a blast.  I am not usually one to leave a lot of white space or use only one photo, but here is another one. I used the “Loyal” line by Authentique!

This photo was taken just before we moved to North Dakota, last year. We had headed north for cousin Mitchell's Graduation party. It was a good day. (This is another layout with the journaling on the back. I didn't want it to interfere with the cleanness of the layout.)

Thanks for stopping by!!
Until later~

Beautiful Daughter

This is our Beautiful Daughter! Little girls love to feel like Princesses, and Hailey is no different. She loves putting on pretty dresses and twirling around. I am so glad I have these pictures of our Princess twirling in her Easter dress!

Once again I used the Echo Park’s This & That Graceful line, the colors and patterns are perfect for "girly" layouts. The title is 2 stickers from the sticker sheet in the This & That Graceful collection. (I used the word stickers on the top right photo to cover a shiny brass door knob in the picture. I couldn't crop it out so I covered it up. LOL)
Thanks for stopping by!!
Until later~

Beautiful*Lovely*Pretty

I have made another layout using the hospital photo of our newborn baby girl, but I decided to do another one when I saw this layout. (With the Sketch of the Month Kits I have been constructing my layouts first and then finding photos that work on each layout. Totally out of the box for me, I always start with my pictures first and plan my page around them.)

Again today I am using Echo Park’s This & That Graceful collection. To change things up I didn't do a lot of embellishments or layers and went more linear.  One of the sheets of paper in this collection had various strips- which are perfect to cut apart and either use as a 12 inch border or alter them for your project. I used 5 of those strips on this layout, my inspiration for staying linear. (The flag strip I trimmed each flag and I added rhinestones to the flower strip after I "fish tailed" the ends and distressed it with ink.) The birdcage is a sticker from the collection (I added the bling.) and so is the journal card. I also added rhinestones to the flag border strip. I invested less than 20 minutes on this layout, and ended up with a page I am very pleased with.
Looking at that picture I wonder where the last 6 years gone. I will say it for the millionth time, "Time is flying by way too fast!!"
Thanks for stopping by!!
Until later~

Discover yourself

Don't you love the hat Hailey is wearing? Hunter made that in art class in Kindergarten. This was one of his favorite projects. The boy can make anything out of paper. He  made a Buzz Lightyear Costume for himself that fit perfectly when he was done. Give the boy a stack of copy paper, a little glue, some string and a roll of Scotch tape and he will amaze you!! :-)

The next 4 layouts I will be sharing are from  Echo Park’s This & That Graceful line of papers. This was the May Sketch of the Month Kit. (I am going to miss this kit club. Ashley included add of the measurements for all of the pieces on the layouts. I loved that!!) I think I ended up with a pretty darn cute layout!
** I wanted to add that I added my journaling to the back of this layout. The story is included, but does not distract from the photo.**
Thanks for stopping by!
Until later~

Smiles look good on you

(Click the photo for a larger view.)

I love when my kids are the best of friends!! (That is not always the case, but more often than not they are.) This was one of those days!! We were out exploring parks again when they hopped on this rock and started yelling, "Take our picture momma!!" I am always happy to oblige!
This is another Coconut Lime Soup by Jillibean Soup layout. By now you know I am stingy with my designer papers, I was able to use a few pieces of paper to make several layouts.

Three things I love about this layout-

*my adorable kids

* all of the different words, I don't usually use so much text.

*I love that Hailey is still smiling even though brother is standing on her foot! LOL

(Oh, and if you looked for my triangle I am sure you found it. {The buttons tied with twine.})

Thanks for stopping by!

Until later~

Butterfly kisses

Today is sister's turn to be the star of my layout. This is the 3rd page I made using the Coconut Lime Soup collection by Jillibean Soup using a Sketch of the Month kit.

(You can click the photo for a larger view.)

I love these pictures of our sweet girl taken in October 2010 at Chestnut Ridge Metro Park in Columbus. It was a gorgeous fall day, Hunter didn't have school that day and daddy took the day off work. So, we decided to visit a new park. City, State and National Parks have always been our "thing." We love finding new parks to explore. An added bonus is when the park has a play area for the kiddos, and this one had a nice one. We walked down to the dock, walked through the woods and of course checked out the playground. Daddy says these are his all time favorite photos of Hailey, so I am so happy that they are now out of the photo box and ready for an album.
 With the title of Butterfly Kisses I had to add an assortment of punched butterflies. (Once again I only adhered the body of the butterfly to my page and bent the wings up for added dimension.) I didn't place my embellishments in a triangle this time, instead I sprinkled them around my photos. I did however use the triangle, do you see it? It is the brown/floral paper- the butterfly on my title, the journal box and the thin strip at the top of the page. (I wanted to add the strip to my page, but because I had not used braown anywhere else on my page I needed to tie it to the bottom of my page.) I also got to use those cute little rhinestones in pink, blue and green. (The girl LOVES bling!)
I just did a little journalling and called it done. LOL (And yes, I fixed my journaling. LOL)
Thanks for stopping by today!
Until later~

Homegrown

There are several things I miss about Ohio- family and friends, Flyers Pizza, scrapbook stores, having more than two grocery stores and our garden. Right after we got married hubby brought home a couple of strawberry plants, I could hardly wait for them to start producing the most delicious berries each spring. My sweet husband always let me sample the first berry. Over time the kids came along and they too waited patiently for the season's first juicy berries. And being a good momma, I let the kids have the honor of having the first berry of the year.

As soon as I saw the strawberry paper in the Coconut Lime Soup collection by Jillibean Soup I knew which pictures I wanted to use. (I am bad about saving photos until I get just the "right" papers. LOL) Don't you think the papers are perfect for this layout! I am so glad I waited to scrap these pictures!

We haven't done an "I Spy" for a while so I think this would be a good one to use.

Did you spy 

*my embellishment triangle

*layered embellishments

*stickers over my photos

*a sticker letter title

*slightly rounded corners

*3 designer papers

*a scalloped border

*a butterfly with bling (the wings are not attached to the page for more dimension)

*2 cute kids (LOL)

So, did you notice everything the first time or did you have to go back for a second look?  :-)

I am already planning a garden for next year, and I am hoping that I can grow our own strawberries once again! 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Until later~

You are my Sunshine

I love, love, LOVE this face!! I can not help but feel so overwhelmingly blessed beyond measure every time I look at my children. They are both huge blessings in my life and they really are my sunshine!
This layout was inspired by a Sketch Kit Club featuring Coconut Lime Soup  by Jillibean Soup. I love all of the fun patterns in this collection, and the different sizes of the patterns. (As an example- I used the pink with butterflies on this layout, if the butterflies had been larger I may not have used them here.)

I can not tell you how many times I have seen a scrapbook page or a card and wondered why the creator had done things the way she did, and would love to know her thoughts. So... I am going to share my thought process with you today. One thing I have really been working on is creating "movement" on my pages. One way I am doing that is by placing things in triangles, it keeps your eye moving across the page. This photo gives you a better idea of what I am talking about- the small circle and heart is on the top photo, embellishment cluster on the right and then more embellishments on the lower left.
I went a little trendy by including banners on my page and then mixed in some embellishments with an old feel to them- the button with twine and the hand cut Mason jar with twine.
Another thing I have noticed is that my layouts look flat. The remedy that I used lots of layers with my embellishments. By using my stickers over my pictures that helped to connect them to my page.
Thank you for letting me share my thought process with you. And Thanks for stopping by!!
Until later~

Sneak peek of what's to come!

Here is a sneak peek at what is to come in the coming days.  Yea, I finally got some scrapbook layouts done!! I will be sharing the details of each layout in the coming days, so stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!
Until later~

Product Review- Glade Expressions

Last week I made the trip into town with the goal of getting the Glade Expressions Fragrance Mist and the Oil Diffuser. After scouring the shelves at our "local" Walmart I finally found both products- on the very bottom shelf. Not only was it on the bottom shelf, BUT they only had one scent for the Oil Diffuser (Pineapple and mangosteen) and 2 scent for the mist- Cotton & Italian Mandarin and Pineapple & Mangosteen. I chose one of each.
The Oil Diffuser is pretty enough to leave out in the open. (I usually hide those ugly plastic air fresheners.) The scent is very pleasant, not too perfume-y. Hubby has issues with real heavy odors, so I try to get the lighter scents. I placed this one in the Master bathroom. I think it will not be too overpowering in a smaller room. (As an added bonus- there were 3 $1 coupons in the package to use when I am ready for refills!!)
I sprayed the Mist in the pickup Saturday morning after hubby clean the inside.Even with the windows up the smell was no overwhelming.
In a couple of weeks I will be heading to Bismarck, I will check there to see if I can get the Fuji Apple&Cardamom Spice and the Lavender & Juniper Berry mists and oils.
I was provided these 2 products  as a BzzAgent, in exchange for an honest review.
Until later~

Book review-Building Family Ties with Faith, Love, and Laughter

Building Family Ties with Faith, Love, and Laughter is the second in the Faithful Family series where Dave Stone applies his practical, conversational, and humorous approach to the challenge of building strong spiritual ties to each other as a family. Topics include: Contentment, Security, Loyalty, Gratitude, Spontaneity, Communication, and more.

After reading several positive reviews I was excited to read Building Family Ties with Faith, Love, and Laughter for myself. Dave Stone is a pastor and father who work with the families in his church to build strong relationships- with each other, others around them and with God. I found many helpful, creative ideas to try with my own family to bring us closer together, closer to God and have a little fun along the way.  One is,  I have already began talking with my children about doing what would be their good, better and best choices in different situations.  We also have been talking more during our family dinner each day. I am very happy to add Building Family Ties with Faith, Love, and Laughter to my own personal library and I will be using this book as a reference in the future.

I would certainly recommend Building Family Ties with Faith, Love, and Laughter to anyone wanting to develop strong family bonds. There are many ideas that can be used with children infant through teens.

I received this book from the publisher through the Booksneeze program in exchange for an honest review.

(The kids are back in school now, and I have had some scrapping time in the studio. As soon as I get some pictures I will have some Layouts to share.) 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Until later~