Christmas Season

Hello, it's been a wonderful holiday season, I just finished delivering to my friend Esmer some pumpkin bread and banana bread with the Christmas cards I made for the homeless veterans shelter she works at...I hope they enjoy them....this is my first year to do this and it has been one of my favorite things to do this season.  My tree is up, we bought it the day after Thanksgiving and it has hardly lost any needles, most of my presents are wrapped...except all the ones on the table still in bags...well, I will get to them eventually...Gary took us to see Imagine Christmas in Galveston it was amazing...basically it's a live theatre performance of the birth of Christ from the angels perspective...lots of singing, live music, and aerial acrobatics...you are seated at candle lit tables, which are decked out in all the holiday styles complete with linen napkins, the dinner is a buffet and starts about an hour and a half before the show starts....salads, sides, vegetables, meats, breads, and desserts, basically, the food was perfect... after dinner the show starts as you are finishing up dessert...they have the scriptures on the large screens projected for all to see as the story unfolds....the room it is performed in is some sort of ball room, carpet is plush...beautiful chandelier type lights are over your head, I think its something used like for a very fancy wedding reception...very grand in appearance...it is one of my most treasured holiday memories...then we strolled thru the Festival of Lights at Moody Gardens...they have the area that you stroll thru completely covered in lights and displays...I think its about a mile or so that you stroll along the path, right next to the water in Galveston...as you approach the lights they have audio sound effects to go along with the lights....as we were entering Bethlehem the audio starts talking about Joseph and Mary having to go to Bethlehem to pay their taxes...as you pass the animals they start making all kinds of noises it feels like the jungle...as you pass the train the conductors voice from Polar Express starts asking for your tickets...etc...etc...it was a perfect holiday night with the family.  We did the Christmas train at Victory Camp in Alvin and ate at Big Als Pizza before the train ride....it was fun visiting with family and friends...we got there at 6:30pm and stayed till they shut the place down after 10:00 pm...We went to the League City Christmas parade and then went to the Holiday in the Park Festival following the parade and ate some great BBQ and looked at the booths...I had a really cool cupcake there too, I just can't remember the kind, but it was good...it's been raining thru out the night at my house and everything looks very soggy outside...it just makes being inside at home so warm and cozy...and relaxed...I tried to find my great niece a special present...the crayon color maker that they have been advertising, it's very cool, you take your old broken crayons and melt them down into new tie died looking crayons...but in the sixth store Rebecca and I still couldn't find one, Rebecca kept muttering behind me down each aisle "God forbid we should find one"....and as we were going into the seventh store to look for this "special present"...she informed me... not asked me... INFORMED me "You are going to pick something else, aren't you"...."Yes" I assured her we were....needless to say we picked something else...Rebecca found something else and said "This is awesome, she will love this, tell her I wanted one and she will love it..." now seriously, I can't tell if Rebecca who is 13yr., really thinks Madeline who is 8yr. will really love it, or if Rebecca had completely lost her Christmas shopping MOJO and would have been fine with giving the child a Christmas handshake at this point in our shopping day...so we had to make the purchase...and then refuel...I had a large icy cold diet Coke and an equally large monster cookie, Rebecca opted for the personal pan cheese pizza and a bottle of water....as we were headed to the car to "regroup" Rebecca said with a mouth full of cheese pizza "the only good thing about this shopping day has been seeing Mrs. Valdez, and she looked great"...basically we turned a corner in Toys R Us and literally almost bumped into her....I shook my head up and down and stuffed some more of the monster cookie in my mouth and then sucked deeply from my diet Coke straw...."are you OK mom, don't get stressed"...I heard Rebecca say...I came back to myself and  told her I would be fine, I just needed to get out of this high traffic BayBrook Mall Area...Rebecca informed me that she
hates shopping....and I agree....I have to be in the mood for it myself...did I tell you I had to return a shirt because I bought two of the exact same kind at JC Penny...well, we took the shirt in and got in yet another line, as we were shuffling in the line I was rummaging for my receipt so I would be ready for my turn....my other daughter called and as I was talking to her, I must have sounded weird because she said "are you OK", I said "no, I'm not" and handed the phone to Rebecca and said you talk to her...then realizing I did not have my receipt...I had to get out of the line and leave and now I have to go back again later....we went to Bed Bath and  Beyond to use my coupons on my purchases from the other day, they are great about letting you do that, anyway I saved another $48 dollars just by taking my receipt back with the rest of my coupons....I found a gift card holder tin that was red and says Happy Holidays in gold and it has an audio button that plays the Bing Crosby version of Happy Holidays...it made me feel better...I kept pushing the button...Rebecca kept telling me "please stop playing that... do not push the button again"..."No" I replied "I will not stop, it makes me feel better"... and I pushed the button again...as we drove out of the parking lot of yet another store...Merry Christmas to all of ya'll.... 

New Cards

Hello There......Well, here are a few, of the photos, I tried to load yesterday.  These are the cards I made recently and I think they are adorable.  By the way, the softball games last night were back to back and the night was chilly...the moon was full on Amazingly beautiful...it felt like one of those you had to be there kind of nights...and they did have hot chocolate...that I held and smelled and stirred... till my husband came and took a sip, and then another, and then took it away... into the dugout with him... and then came back for his coat...while I went to go get some more of the warm chocolatey mood elevator....I think the subliminal messages in the background helped with the mood elevating effect....they kept blaring over the overhead speakers from the concession stand..."Come on over... and warm up... with some fresh hot chocolate...new batch just made...get it quick, it's going fast..."needless to say that worked for me...as they ended the first game, before the second one started (in about 3-4 minutes, did I mention the games were back to back literally) I was back in line for another warm comforter....Rebecca made a great play with the throwdown to second in the first game...no hesitation...she came up firing...the ball was a missile straight and low to second (its fast, hard and scary and if it hits you and not your glove, let's just say you will be bruised, dazed, possibly knocked over, and you WILL have the stitches from the ball temporarily tattooed on your body on impact...recently she was clocked throwing 47mph and that was not even warmed up yet....Softball, there's nothing soft about it) Skyler, shortstop, hurtled herself to second...caught the ball and spun around and tagged low...OH YEAH, she got the OUT !!!! AMAZING... I should have been taking pictures, I should have recorded the moment...you should have seen Rebecca's face....Huge...Huge...smile...she lit up like a christmas tree....did I take a picture...well, no...why?...because, I was living in the moment....I was watching the action....I was cold, in a coat, with a scarf, and gloves, and a blankie...and clutching Hot Chocolate in my gloved icy hands...that I was sniffing and stirring....but I do have the memory...I don't think I will forget it...that smile...I could see thru the catchers mask...coaches were yelling did you see her face...Yes.... Yes, I did... its forever etched in my memory bank that I know I will replay over and over in my mind...Well, apparently, I have digressed down the softball bunny trail and seem to have forgotten to tell you about these cards...take a look...feel free to copy them...these are simple and fun to make....

Isn't this adorable...there is something about pink and purple, they just go together, like peanut butter and jelly.  I used some new Close to my Heart stamp sets for the sentiment and the image.  I colored the image with some Tombo markers and fussy cut her out. I used my Cuttlebug to die cut the white background with a Spellbinder shape and then embossed it with one of the Cuttlebug folders.  I then popped it out twice with pop dots, the white background is popped out from the card, and then the image is popped out from the white...the 3D effect is fantastic and adds a lot of dimension visually...I used two different shades of purple to add a touch of whimsy...and three simple gold brads because, well,  just because....I have noticed that the brads are not in a straight line...but then it adds to the handmade feel of the card...so, I'm OK with it not being perfect...I have been using the Tim Holts distress ink on most of my sentiments and it seems to be working well, the ink seems richer and deeper than some of the other inks I've tried....The card is purple, the border is lilac, the top paper is pinky purple and they blend beautifully...this makes me smile....

This card is similar in style and color theme.  I used the Spellbinder circle die in my Cuttlebug and  layered the image on the white circle and then popped the white circle out with pop dots.  The sentiment is one stamp, so I just inked each word seperately and stamped directly on the card where I wanted the words to be.  The roses are done from the new Cricut cartridge that is exclusive to Close to my Heart...I think it's called Artsy...something....these were really fun to make...The purple ribbon bow is hard to see in the photo, but it is sheer and looks great on the card... 

This is how I did the inside of both of these cards.  I used  the same  pinky purple  swirly paper as on the front of the card background.  The border is one of the Martha Stewart punches...and the sentiment I just wrote out on my computer and printed off.

This is a card I made for my sister's birthday, I think it's beautiful.  I used a beautiful fall wired ribbon  that my friend Sarah gave me recently...and it's stunning on a card....very excited about the possibilities of other wired ribbons in the future.  The roses are cut from the Cricut cartridge from Close to My Heart, and the cardstock is a salmon color.  I used a green shade of cardstock for the card and over laid it with a salmon designer paper, and over laid that with white vellum, and then the fall wired ribbon, and then the roses.  I also used my Cuttlebug again with a spellbinders die (it looks like a topnote,,,but its a label one).  I embossed it with the Cuttlebug "Swiss Dots" folder and then inked it with the Tim Holts "Vintage Photo" distress ink (this is one of my favorite colors).  I then used a stamp for the sentiment, used some decorative scissors to edge it like a postage stamp and inked the edges.  Then I popped out the sentiment with a pop dot, and popped out the inked, swiss dot form from the back as well.  The scalloped border on the green cardstock and white vellum is a Martha Stewart punch...I love her punches they always work great...

This is the inside of the card, on the left is the Spellbinders label image that I die cut  using my Cuttlebug, and then used the Cuttlebug Script embossing folder, and then inked it with the Tim Holts "Vintage Photo" distress ink...I have a few slits cut into this to hold a gift card for her, the slits are from a Stampin Up punch that is discontinued... I hope they bring it back because it's a wonderful tool, I'll talk more about later....I then popped it out with pop dots...On the right side I used more of the fall wired ribbon, and the salmon designer paper to accent it.  I chose a pale gold cardstock for the sentiment, and used my decorative scissors to edge it like a postage stamp, and then inked the edges and popped it out with some pop dots.  I chose to leave a hand written note for a more personal touch, my handwriting is not so fabulous...but the love is there...

I will probably come back and add the names of the products, punches, dies, etc.  I just have to take the time and look them up....but I'm not promising...just saying I might...have a beautiful fall day....

Catch up time

Hello There,
The weather here is amazing today, crisp, sunny and a slight chill in the air....makes me want to get in the kitchen and watch christmas movies and start baking....ummmmmm Pumpkin Bread and Banana Bread sound great . I love the way the house smells when I whip up a few loaves.  I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is right around the corner....Amazing....Rebecca will be out for the Thanksgiving Break by next friday...wow....and then Christmas will be here before you know it....I'm thinking about making some christmas cards this year to mail out and also to send to a Veterans homeless shelter that I just found out about, I have been informed that they have about 70 men staying there at all times.  So, this many cards may be a stretch...but I think I'm up for it....I just want to make them special, and I want to give each of them the WOW factor....we shall see, I will keep you posted...I want to start on them while I have the Thanksgiving break...  I have been finishing up a few projects that have been on my mind...Rebecca's volleyball end of season party was a huge success...I think each of the girls had a great time...I made the coaches some cards and had the volleyball players each fill out a tag for each of their coaches...they had two, who, by the way were amazing....I put the tags together with a large brad and made a tag book which I then slipped into a pocket...On the back of the cards I made an extra pocket for the notes from the parents to each of the coaches as well...I took one of the photos of the coaches from this season and put it in the card, which I think made it very special for them....For the girls I made brownies and treat bags for each of the girls...and in the treat bags were bubbles, candy, a black and white hair bow (their uniform colors were black and white), a magnetic pink memo pad with a pen, magnets, large paper clips and a individual volleyball scrapbook  for each of the girls, complete with pictures....the girls had such a great time looking at their scrapbooks.  These were so much fun to make....pictures and photos to come.....I have also been making some new cards....with some of the new close to my heart stamp sets that I recently purchased.  I am about to try my hand at using copic markers, and making some christmas ornaments....oh the joy of the holidays, so many wonderful things to do...for some unknown reason I can't get my pictures to upload for you so I will work on that for awhile....have a blessed day...Oh,yeah one more thing tonight is Rebecca's last fall softball tournament.. first game tonight starts at 8:30pm and then she has another game tonight time unknown...you will find me in my green chair with a coat, scarf, gloves, earmuffs and a blankie....hopefully clutching some hot chocolate....the temperature is dropping and its getting windy and chilly....time to make some snowman soup.....I'll tell you more about this later...well,  hot or cold it's always a good game for Rebecca....did I tell you basketball practice has started as well....sooo I am looking for that basketball paper for the team, there will be eight girls on the team this year, so far anyway....it's going to be a great season...

Renaissance Festival Field Trip

Hello There..., well fall is definitely here.  I went on my daughters 8th grade field trip yesterday to the Renaissance Festival and we had a great day.  It was school days so it was open to the schools with kids in mind, they closed down all alcohol and weapon booths.  I was asked by countless people in costume that worked there if I was enjoying the atmosphere of school days.  They really cleaned it up for the kids...very family oriented and really nice.  The weather was perfect not hot or cold, and beautiful.  Here are a few pictures of the day...I had forgotten how many beautiful trees surround this place.  On the two hour bus drive we saw countless patches of land and trees that had just recently been caught up in the wild fires of Texas in this area around Plantersville and Magnolia.

We have just arrived and are waiting for our tickets...there were countless buses and kids everywhere when we first arrived and were waiting to get checked in...notice all the green trees the drought has not seemed to affect them that much...it was beautiful...driving in it felt and looked like we were going camping....

Our group is now in the festival area and even with all the people it is so large and spacious, it does not feel crowded and you can really branch out and have some breathing room...

Just looking and waiting for all the group to come back together and then we head out...be prepared to walk and walk and walk and then walk some more....

We are now on the move again to see what we can see...I love all the green trees...

Some of the kids are looking in the shops so we are waiting for them, the buildings are decorated and very ornate and detailed.... 

One of the teachers is going over the map with the kids to see what they want to do next...

and we are walking again....it is kinda like being camping and walking around and  looking at the trees and stuff...a great day to be in the company of friends...and these kids get along great...

There is some sort of pavilion thing to the left of our group...quite a lot to see,  you will not be bored...I'm sure we did not see half of what there is to see today....

More walking and looking....

The kids are doing archery...but I had to get a shot of these lions...Rebecca's school  mascot is the lion and there was a row of lions here when we came....

Oh the places you can go and the people you can see....

Kids were playing with the hats so I snapped a few memories....

We are headed back to the front because its time to head back to the bus for the two hour trip home...it was a great trip and I hope that you can visit the Renaissance Festival and experience it for yourself...I think we are going back as a family before the season is over this year...have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Kids and Sports... memories in the making...

Hello There,...Well, volleyball season for Jr. High is coming to a close with the last game today, it has been a great season for the team, and this is Rebecca's last year to play in Jr. High, she moves up to high school next year.  I wanted to share some of the things that make me soo HAPPY TO SCRAP....I made each of the girls their own ball with their names, jersey number, paw print stickers, and of course a little bling...The Junior High in black I made last year and it still looks great...This is displayed in their main gym...and I made them a different one to display on their lockers...but I can't find my pictures of them...I think I will go visit their lockers this week and take another photo or two...:)

I wish I had the locker volleyballs to show you too...

This is a close-up of one of the volleyballs so you can see the name, jersey number, paw print stickers and the bling....I used the sports mania cartridge with my Cricut and backed it in black...their uniforms are black and white... wait till you see next years....oh it's gonna be AWESOME...

I made this poster for their den (the place they hide out in between games in the tournaments, they go pow-wow with the coaches, rest, tape up injuries and have snacks and water breaks.  LSCS puts on three tournaments for volleyball a year and they are amazing...)  The ribbon at the top is part of the ribbon that Rebecca used for her hair in this season...and again I used my Cricut with the sports mania cartridge for the dimensional's you see...the girls signed it in Blue...school colors...I used volleyball brads on this as well, they look like white buttons in this photo...and you can't see it but I blinged the hands on the net with tiny rhinestones for rings and bracelets...

 I decided to make something special for Rebecca's last volleyball game day in Jr. High...
So now that it's October and chocolate is running amuck down practically every aisle it seemed perfect...and who doesn't love chocolate...

Here is a closer view...I think they turned out adorable...I found a few you tube videos and learned how to make a fun conversation piece...and I know I will be using this idea a lot now that the holidays are close at hand...

These are made out of pink cardstock, some purple volleyball girl paper (really fun to work with), and a volleyball brad as an added dimensional, there is a slight glare on the photos, but the brads do add a lot to the overall look, I stamped and inked the two dimensionals and used pop dots to bring out the 3D effect....(did I mention that I love pop dots)...

The shorter version has a Kit Kat bar in white chocolate, that I made especially for one of the girls that did not like chocolate...all the other treat pulls have a normal Hershey bar in them...Well, when Rebecca saw them she loved them, but informed me that ALL the girls like chocolate...SOOOO I remade hers to be exactly like the others....and gave the white chocolate Kit Kat to my husband...

On the back of the purple belly band I attached a small paw print for their school spirit....they are the LIONS and there are paw prints on all the school spirit gear....

Each pull has ribbon that is looped around the Hershey bar  , and all you do is untie the bow, or  untwist the wired ribbon and pull the candy out that is hiding in secret behind the cute-ness...I loved this idea and I hope they love it too...Rebecca was well pleased...

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did and feel free to copy anything you see for your own kids and teams...Oh the joy of a chocolate filled day....

The Wind

Hello There...Wow, well, can you say windy......my wind chimes were gently singing their songs this beautiful fall season, until, until yesterday, and then they exploded with loud, painful clanging noises ( I swear they were screaming for help) I was wondering, for a while, if I was hearing their farewell songs....but, they have survived and are gently singing their songs once again today...it is now officially fall at our house...last night around 7:00 p.m. I went to fall softball practice, with the wind....How windy was it you ask?  Let's just say, I spit out my gum about an hour into practice...it was getting way too crunchy for me (basically, full of dirt)...and I could have used a pair of goggles too... the ear plugs and hoodie zipped and tied did not suffice...but I survived and now I remember why they call it fall ball...it happens in the fall, in the wind, and.. in the cold, and... sometimes in the rain...but mostly in the wind...the girls didn't seem to mind at all..."it's not cold..."they said.  Well, from my perspective, sitting in my olive green portable chair, that I schlep to every practice... game... and tournament it was very cold and windy....but hey, that's just me. I carried my daughter's hoodie and some earplugs to the field because she said she did not need them and I knew she would....she put the hoodie on, about five minutes after we got there "I'm freezing" she said.  "Put the ear plugs in and pull your hoodie up" I say.  "I'm OK" she replies over her shoulder as she runs across the field to line up for a drill....and the wind blew, and blew, and blew... My daughter came out of her hoodie, fifteen minutes into practice..."I'm hot..." she says...and the wind blew, and blew, and blew....balls were hit, runners were tagged, throws were made, balls were caught and balls were chased over and over and over... I think the wind had as much fun playing wiht the softballs as the girls did (giggle, giggle...) and the wind blew, and blew, and blew.  An hour and a half later, we are trekking back to the car, she beats me back to the car and loads up her catchers bag ( this thing is ginormous and heavy, but, praise God it has wheels) I hand her my chair and tell her she beat me back to the car, she replies "I know mom, because you're a turtle"...I climb into the car and start the engine... and take out my ear plugs.  "What are those?"  Rebecca asks.  "They are the ear plugs I tried to get you to wear" I say.  She replies "When did you tell me about those?"  "When I told you to put your hoodie on" I answer.  "I didn't hear you tell me you had ear plugs, I could have used them tonight" she says.  Oh well, it must have been the wind...

Meet Gracie

Hello There,

This is Gracie, sometimes crazy but mostly amazing... we love her and I wanted to share her with you. She has been flabbergasted with all the commotion these strangers are stirring up by invading her yard lately.  We have some contractors helping outside and its about to drive her crazy....she jumps and whines and wiggles all over the floor...then she collapses on the couch to catch her breath...never mind they have been here about a week...she still goes nuts...

Now she has moved to another couch...and is "listening" to the Salsa music playing outside (the workers are happy, quietly laughing and singing)...she looks stressed...she is very quiet almost contemplating....I can hear her thinking "IF only they would let me outside those guys would have so much more fun IF  I was out there doing the salsa with them, IF, IF, IF,,,," it's a very sad time for her she is under the impression that everyone is her BEST BEST BEST FRIEND and needs her to give them lots of attention...by pouncing on them over and over and over it can be quite overwhelming for some people others just roll with it....she is small but very strong and her pounces or HUGS, as she seems to think are very much needed, like you are her BEST BEST BEST FRIEND and she hasn't seen you in ages, never mind that you just went to the mailbox for like 2 minutes...she will greet you with lots of HUGS or pounces and sounds...no she does not bark she whistles and gurgles and makes all kinds of sounds but I would not call it a bark....Any-who this is our Grace...a very affectionate little fireball...I hope you have a wonderful day...I'm scrapping tomorrow...thanks for stopping by...

Sports Layouts

Here are some softball lay-outs I have done I used the team color purple for  the background and backed the photos in black, added some 3D embellishments and softball stickers as well as a black silhouette..the side border is a piece of purple card-stock with some velveteen raised purple polka dots that just went perfectly for this lay-out...

This is another softball layout with the purple team color as the background, I used black and purple borders for the pictures, and another piece of the purple raised velveteen polka dots for a side border...I used the sports mania Cricut cartridge for the silhouettes and some softball stickers to finish it out...there are some purple rhinestones on the letters and hidden journaling tags behind the photos...

I trimmed out the letters in gold, but I think I need to redo them with black...I like to fussy cut some of my images of Rebecca in her uniforms and pop them out the effect is eye-catching...The silhouette of her about to throw down to second base is emphasized by placing her in a corner of the page with the words "GOIN DOWN"....oh I love this page....

I also like to add some things like cartoons that go with my sports themed pages when I can find them they add more to the story...and are very appealing to the page...Rebecca plays catcher and this fit perfectly with the memories of her first season with the pitchers shaking off her signals and refusing to throw the pitches the coaches were telling her to call...


The weather is so beautiful now, it's the beginning of fall and it's fabulous.  I was able to take in a saturday crop and it was so much fun.  I feel refreshed and energized and ready to tackle some more layouts...I spent the day working on a new mini I will post some pictures soon.  I hope everyone has a chance to take in the beauty of the day...it's amazing how a change in the weather makes you feel sooo much better...Be thankful in the little things as well as the big...life is full of countless little blessings...open your eyes and see them....

More Sports Layouts

Here are some sports lay-outs that I have done for some of my daughter's sports pictures...It might give you some ideas for your own sports themed pages...

I like to use the team colors for the background color on my pages and use black as a main border for the photos I back the photos with pop dots and they really pop.  I used my cricut to cut out the letters.  I like to use some 3D embellishments for added demension as well as stickers.  The team mascot is a LION with paw prints on all school spirit stuff...which is really fun to use as an accent on her sports pages.  I also like to use her hair ribbons to tie into the pages for memories...this blue and white polka dot ribbon was her main go to ribbon for these games...I used my corrugater to add texture to the torn black border as well...

Well, hello October, come on down, this year is blowing by; it feels like "Life in the Fast Lane" lately, but it will surely settle down soon.  We did some yard work over the week-end. While we were working on the trees in our front yard, all of a sudden, we heard birds (hawks) making loud screeching sounds to each other like they were talking, and then we saw one over our heads, then there were two, and then there were three of them, circling over our heads...Gary yelled their hurt, I stopped stuffing limbs and leaves in the trash bag and looked up thinking how does he know they are hurt, so I asked him "How do you know that they are hurt?" and he yelled "No, they think the dog is hurt or dead and are looking for an easy meal" well, Rebecca, dropped the trash bag she was holding,  jumped up from the ground, practically leaped across the yard, grabbed her dog and became very defensive over the little Jack Russel Terrier she calls "Gracie", she was clutching her protectively while muttering "they're not getting my dog, I'll kill them if they try and take my dog" (I think her hackles were up instead of the dogs)...Gracie just looks around like what's the big deal I'm fine, let me down...after a few tense moments, I guess the hawks realized that the dog was not dead (she was just lounging around sunbathing while we worked), so the birds quieted down and  flew away... It seems like our yard teems with squirrels until the fall and then they disappear...actually I think these hawks come to roost in our trees and feast on our squirrels....and then they move on to greener pastures. Near the end of winter right before spring comes we start having an abundance of squirrels again.  The squirrels can be a challenge to Gracie as they love to tease and aggravate her with their antics when she is safely in her cage and can't get at them... My daughter has been playing volleyball and softball so I thought I would give you a few ideas of some ways to do sports layouts that might help you with your own little athlete's photos.

New paper bag mini

Here is a new mini that I wanted to share this was so much fun ....with the paper bags it has a lot of real estate for photos and journaling with lots of tags...I handmade the rose on the cover...

Gratitude is the hearts Memory

Good Morning...today is beautiful and full of possibilities I am thankful for another day...I have been up doing laundry and am about to pick up Rebecca from volleyball practice, do grocery shopping this afternoon and then go to prayer meeting tonight I am full of expectancy. God is about to show up in a huge way I can feel it, I woke up singing today... I am hopeful that I will walk three miles on my treadmill today...I have gotten out of my routine since vacation and need to get back into it because it really does make me feel better...I don't know if it was a good idea to put my treadmill in my scrapbook room right next to my scrapbook table... I seem to have a conflict of interest...Oh, well, we shall see...I just opened my new book called Wishes by Close to my Heart founder Jeanette R. Lynton...it is sooo full of creative card ideas and the secret pocket is calling me out, almost daring me to stop what I'm doing and get cracking making these cards...wow, my heart is pounding just thinking of where I can sneak this pocket into my mini's and layouts...I think I have the Magic book as well, now I have to go find it...The Wishes book if full of beautiful quotes...one of my favorites "There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude. A quiet joy. By Ralph H. Blum". Be thankful in all things....

my day

It's a new season and change is coming...I can feel it...does anyone else feel it....went to church today it was awesome I could feel something different in the air...had a great time with friends and family at lunch...we went to Saltgrass Steakhouse...the best steak around....had a quick visit with MaMaw in the nursing home...they had tied a huge bow in her hair that matched her dress...and it was quite fetching on her little 86 year old gray head.  The house is quiet now because my husband and 13yr. old are at softball practice...the fall softball season has begun today...school volleyball practice started a few weeks ago...school will start in ten days the official countdown has begun.   Rebecca's first volleyball game is the second day of school.....I need to upload some of my layouts from last years vb and sb seasons they were fun to do...

I am torn between scrapbooking some layouts or working on some scrapbook mini albums today...I have the guilty pleasure of loving the feel of glue and paper in my hands, the sounds of the paper cutter and scissors is music to me I get lost in the zone...seriously... I lose all track of time until someone awakens me to reality and I have to come back to life as I know it.  I can hear my washing machine playing me a beautiful melody (it's one of those that actually plays a melody when it's done)...so I have to go take care of the laundry....I usually scrapbook to hide from the laundry...but apparently it has found me again......

Flower Baby

I have been waiting and waiting to use these pictures in a layout...these are some of my favorites they are of my little one Rebecca Faith, she's about 1yr. in these pictures and loves to look at, touch, and smell the flowers (or as my husband says weeds, I prefer to look at them as flowers too).  She is walking around in the back yard obviously spring time and saying in a very small voice "fows, fows, mell, mell", and the little foot cocked to the side is because she just realized she was stepping on a fows and said "uh oh, uh oh, fows, fows"....this memory for me is forever embedded in my mind and I'm sure it will never leave me.  Her hair is finally starting to grow, and we have no idea what her hair is about to do, but that's another story and another layout.  My daughter is now about to be thirteen...but I remember this day....Thank God for memories...precious memories how they linger, ever often on our minds....I think this is one of the reasons I love scrapbooking sooo much...it allows me to walk back thru time anytime I want to...there's such a peace in this that I have never found in anything else except in prayer and bible study.  I believe this hobby or dare I say passion will last thruout my lifetime and live on in my children when I'm gone...in a world full of chaos and stress it truly is a treasure to be able to de-stress by a little time travel every now and then. It's just plain good for the soul, like buttermilk cornbread warm from the oven smothered in butter...oh well, I digress.....back to this layout...I used a green cardstock for the background and papers from DCWV "The Four Seasons Stack" and "The Mariposa Stack".  The left side border is a piece of paper from the four seasons stack and then I cut out several individual butterfly's from the mariposa stack and pop dotted them on the border for a great visual effect it looks like they are flying between the sunflowers.  I used some daisy's that I bought at Walmart's silk flower section and took them apart at the top of the border and then added the RG they are chipboard white letters with glitter that I picked up at Target.  The center photos are double matted with brown and a cardboard color that went perfect with the pictures that I pop dotted off the mattes for effect.  The large sunflowers I hand cut from one of the pages of the four seasons stack, I cut the placard in between the photos from one of the pages of the mariposa stack I used pop dots for dimension as well.  I then added two more daisy's and placed an individual butterfly on top of the daisy's with a pop dot.  The other butterfly's came from the same paper packs.  The journaling is a BasicGrey journal block stamp, and finally to finish it I tucked the adorable chipboard butterfly tag from DCWV Street Lace series under the photo.

Wonderful You

This is a layout that I did of my daughter's 25th birthday, she spent the day wearing a tiarra, a huge blinking bling ring, glittering eye shadow and had a glitter heart painted on her face...let's just say she had herself a DAY !!! So, this had to be documented in the annals of my scrapbook pages.  Since she moved out and doesn't live at home I don't see her on a daily basis anymore.  I chose the pinks and orange colors to accent her cake and pictures that seem to have a pinkish hue.  I used the DCWV "Ciao Bella" Stack papers, they are sooo beautiful and sooo full of stuff to cut out and use as embelies on your pages. First for the background I used a charcoal grey cardstock paper and then layered the top and bottom borders with some portions of the Ciao Bella papers I choose the pink ones and the roses were on one of the papers in the stack and I hand cut them out.  The borders are layer of pink paper, layer of orange taffeta ribbon, layer of dark brown wire ribbon with a shimmer sparkle to it.  I used another page from the stack to back the top photo and then a different section from that page to back the center photo of the birthday girl in all her glory...:)...I then placed the roses with pop dots over the photo and charcoal grey paper.  For the top border I placed the smaller roses on top of ribbon with pop dots, and I made a Title placard by cutting it out of another page from this stack as well, and then coloring it in with some Tombo pens.  The journaling in the bottom right corner is a stamp from    BasicGrey its called the journal block stamp set...I finished this off with a few pink rhinestones placed on the brown ribbon and a few itty bitty rhinestones on the tierra for effect...it's quite fetching....