It's my life

Almost 7 months

Hmm.... Who doesn't just love seeing baby toes, feet,hands, soft skin, ears, rolls, and of course big beautiful grins.  

I truly love taking pictures of babies in all stages and aren't I just the luckiest mom in the world to have a new baby to photograph every day.

So here we are this morning, I had just changed Garrett's diapers and it was warmer than normal in the house, so instead of all of the fighting and carrying on about how awful it is to put his little arms through sleeves and to lay still enough for Mommy to snap all the snaps, I decided to just go a la diaper for awhile.  

Then I saw this....

and I had to take a picture of that bald little head and those cute little ears that, yes, seem to stick out a little more than my other two children's did.

And then, I saw this...

and I loved how he stretched his arms out to grab, feel, learn and experience the sense of touch.

And thank God I had my camera in my lap because even then I barely caught this next move.

Wait... here we go!

Not the best pictures in the world but at least I got it. Recorded it. There is absolutely no way of denying it.  I call him my little monkey and Go Go Garrett, but really... Give your old mom's heart a break.  At just shy a couple of days from 7 seven months, I am not ready for this.

Petaloo, May Arts, and Coredinations Spotlight

Oh I know that I am a little late in posting this layout on my blog but I really don't want to wait until next fall. :) 

These are some of my favorite pictures of my son Brett when he was small.  I love the sunlight in his hair and those rosy cheeks. He is probably about a year old.

This layout was posted on the Petaloo blog for the hop between Petaloo and Core'dinations. I absolutely had a ball using all of the Color Me Crazy flowers that are colored to match the Core'dinations paper perfectly.

The Core'dinations paper you see in this picture was run through my Big Shot in a Cuttlebug folder called Swiss Dots.  The white core of the paper shows through the embossing.

The flourish you see in the picture above was cut from a die by Tim Holtz. I love using flourishes as accents pieces to my flower groupings.  

Well thanks for stopping by.  I hope that you are getting all of your shopping done and are ready for the holidays.  I still have some baking to do as well as some gifts to make for friends.  I did take some time out today to take some pictures of Garrett. He is now 5 months old and such a happy baby.  Do you think that he resembles Brett?

Have a wonderful day!

 

Petaloo | Just Born layout

Oh, I just love this little guy.  What a blessing he has been on my life and my family's life.  This picture is actually about 4 weeks old but he looks very much the same now.  Maybe a little less hair.  :)

This sweet little baby was born on July 6, 2011 in North Carolina.  He made his arrival a few days early while we were away from home at a family reunion.  What could have been a very strained situation was made into a wonderful experience thanks to the wonderful nurses and doctors at Murphy Medical Center.  They took very good care of me, Garrett, and even the rest of my family.

For this layout I used some Petaloo flowers and new Authentique papers.  It was the perfect soft background for my pictures.  I used a filter on my picture that I got from The Pioneer Woman that made the colors soft and muted.  The Petaloo flowers were all distressed with a little brown ink and then accessorized with metal accents from Tim Holtz.  The tag was stamped with a stamp from Glitz and the canvas tag was cut from a Tim Holtz die and then colored with a yellow Copic marker.  

 

This hidden journaling tag fits in behind the picture.  I plan on writing a few details about how I felt when he was born on it.  I am so looking forward to all of the new milestones that are ahead of us and having the pleasure of scrapping them once again.

 

 

Simon Says Stamp Challenge- Coffee and Cream

Wow, I saw a lot of wonderful cards last week for our challenge at Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog and today we've got another one for you.  Coffee and Cream plus a little Whiff of Joy! What could be better?  I readily admit that this one was quite a challenge for me as well.  It's not often that I stick to a specific color scheme.  Usually I just use the papers that I pick out for the card and match my Copics.  This time I had to do the opposite.  I am actually happy with the way it came out though and now vow to stretch myself more often in the future.

The sketch I used was from Sketch Saturday so I will entering my card there but I also wanted to tell you a little bit about the rest of the supplies that I used.  The paper is from Sweetness by Pink Paislee and has been one of my most used 6x6 paper pads.  It's funny because I traditionally use papers that are more cute than these and I have found that I really love the frilly stuff.

The stamp is from Whiff of Joy.  She is called Willow in the Summer Breeze. I love all of the fruit on her pretty clothes.  Very fun to color.  I've listed the Copics that I used below.  The sentiment is also from Whiff of Joy and it is included in the Spring Swirls doodle and sentiment set.  I think it is the perfect combination of print and script and I love  what it says.

I hope that you will join us in our challenge this week.  Of course there is a fabulous prize to be won.  $50 spending spree to the Simon Says Stamp Online Superstore.  What could be better than that?

Copics:  E000, 00, 01, 50, 51, 53, 57, 59; R20, 22, 24; G85

Did you hear about Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog DT Call?  Were looking and if you want to be a part of a fantastic team, (the best!), read the details here and please link your card on this week's challenge post with DT at the end of your name.  

Baby Update:  My little bundle is doing well.  Feeling him move more and more each day.  Struggling with tiredness but hopefully that will ease up a but.  I've still got a long way to go.  It sure has been different this time, being an "older mom".  In some ways, the best and others, Wow, I'd like to be young again.  But I have faith that I will survive, :) and it helps that I know there is a wonderful bundle of joy at the end of the rainbow.  Attitude is everything, isn't it?

Got Sketch #110

Valerie has posted a new sketch on her Got Sketch blog this week.  Be sure to stop by and see the sketch and how the other designers used it.  I kept my layout pretty simple this week but I think it is perfect for my these pictures of my son Brett when he was just a baby.  Oh so long ago.  I am getting so excited thinking about the pictures I will get to take of my new baby coming in July.  It won't be long. 

Supplies used:  Petaloo flowers, Fancy Pants Happy Together line, Silhouette die cuts

Thanks for stopping by!

 

You Can

There are so many reasons to believe in yourself.  There are so many reasons to chase after your dreams and be the person YOU want to be.  Why is it that we don't always see that.  My mom always said to me growing up, "You can do anything that you put your mind to.  You just have to want to."  Which is something that I have always taken to heart.  Even though when I was younger I had a hard time with shyness and didn't always believe in myself those words started sinking in during college and now I do believe them.  

I am taking that same sort of attitude and way of life and telling my daughter and my son, "You Can".  If you want it bad enough, you can, you will find a way."  I think that it is important to instill that Can Do attitude.  So many kids and adults just wait for it to be done for them and then usually are disappointed.  If you believe that you can then your dreams are reachable and limitless.

 

Do you see these beautiful flowers?  The paper flowers are from Petaloo.  These are already colored so all you have to do is glue them to your page.  I layered them on top of chipboard and felt flowers and topped them with buttons and gems.

Don't forget that You Can, If You Want To!
 

 

Life, Discover Yourself Mini Album

This mini album was created for Scrapbook Mania's  Mar/Apr scrapbooking kit.  I was so excited to use some of Pink Paislee's newest products.  The pictures that I used were just ones that I pulled from my computer that were special to me for one reason or another. 

 There is no time line, just random pictures from different times and places.  I believe that I made do a couple more of these albums but make them contain a yearly snapshot.  I love the album.  It's easy to decorate and the 6x6 pages fit it perfectly so no cutting is involved.

 

I thought that 365 degrees lines went really well with my alphabet stamps so I did most of my journaling with them.  I have about 5 or 6 small sets.  They are perfect for mini albums and cards.

More stamps, and buttons and Maya Road chipboard tags.  I also love making pockets and tags in my mini book.  

 

This is a fun Unity Stamp.  I have used several of my Unity Stamps in the book.  This particular one was perfect for a list.

 

Life can be crazy so I included this page as a reminder to enjoy what I have, what I do, and what I love.

 

I made this tag for each of the kits.  It was really fun and simple.  I used some great background stamps from Glitz and a shipping tag.  The red dotted flower section was stamped with red ink on a piece of a shipping tag.  I loved the effect it gave.  It actually looks like real patterned paper.  After I completed the book I went back to assemble the tags and for just a second started looking for that piece of patterned paper.  Duh but cool.

 

There is a fine line between need and want.

 

The postcard is stamped on the Pink Paislee paper with another one of my background Unity Stamps.  I love them.

 

Another Unity Stamp and broke out the alphas again.  Pictures are of my dd.  These make me sad and happy all at the same time.

Tim Holtz film strip ribbon.  Wonderfully easy to use and it looks great!

 

Where Dreamers Dream, Hearts Whisper Loudly.  I don't know, maybe this is a quote that I heard or read before.  All I know is that it popped into my head and I wrote it down.  I love it!

 

 

I had to put a pleated ribbon flower in there somewhere.  I am really happy with how it turned out.

  
This is the back of the canvas album.  I took some of the left over ribbon and glued it to the spine and then added a page book mark.  

If you are interested in the next kit from Scrapbook Mania, 205-424-4246, you must call and put your name on the list.  There will be just a limited number of kits available. All of this for just $24.99.   If you live out of town we can mail one to you.

Tomorrow I am heading to a baseball tournament but I hope to share a new layout I created.

 

So behind on my blog....

Upcoming Class schedule:

Beginner and Intermediate Learn How to Color with Copic Markers - Saturday, January 16th at Scrapbook Mania

Using your Cricut class- Tuesday, January 19th at Scrapbook Mania

Note:  There are only a few more card kits left so if you would like one make sure to get to Scrapbook Mania to pick yours up.  To learn more about my card kits see this post.

I need to catch up.  Do a few posts a night or something.  Even though I have a million thoughts running through my head, I rarely sit down and blog about them.  I prefer to create than write so I am always so tired when I finally stop creating and think about writing a post.  Well here are a few things that I have been doing.  

Here are two of my Bo Bunny projects.  I am just over the moon in love with their two Valentines lines, Love Bandit and Persuasion.  Persuasion is a little grungy than Love Bandit so they appeal to both sides of my creative self.  

Here is Persuasion.

 

This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Brett.  He had just started sitting up and loved to sit in the grass and pull it.  This was taken with my old film camera back when I was using color processed black and white film.  The pictures has this old time feel to it that was straight out of the camera.  I would never ever give up my digital camera but it is fun to see the pictures I took during the film camera days.

Here is Love Bandit.

  
 

 

This box is made from one of the templates that I have by Lauren Meader for Papertrey Ink.  It's a great size to hold 4-5 3x3 cards.  The Love is cut out from my Cricut.

 
 I just love Bo Bunny's cardstock stickers.  They help you make cards quick.  For these 3x3 cards I just cut out scalloped squares with my Spellbinders dies using Bo Bunny's double dot cardstock in Ocean and then I stuck the square cardstock stickers on it.  A few pop dots on some more double dot cardstock in Blush and you are done.  These would be great for your kids to make for their friends.  Simple but oh so sweet.

So glad to be home...

Home sweet home.  I love being home.  As I look around I see all my favorite familiar things.  I am truly blessed for what I have.  My family, my friends, my home.  I just want to take a minute tonight and say how much I have enjoyed reading all of the comments that have been left on my blog this year.  It is wonderful to know that so many people are enjoy what I create.  Thank you so much to all of my blog readers. 

Recently I created the following project for Bo Bunny.  I love these kraft coffee bags.  Each year at Christmas I fill many of these bags with homemade cookies.  

 

I so love the sentiment stamp that I used from Bo Bunny's Tis the Season collection.  White ink on kraft is always a winner.

Don't forget to use stickers in new and different ways.  Backing them with cardstock and having them become the main focus is easy with Bo Bunny sticker sheets.

I hope you enjoy being with your family this holiday season as much as I am.  Don't let the hustle and bustle of the season keep you from remembering what this time of the year is all about.  

Merry Christmas to everyone.  

God Bless us, every one!  (Tiny Tim from Scrooge, 1951)

  

Embellish-Online Wednesday Spotlight on Polar Expressions

Often when I scrap I am conditioned to think about design elements, techniques, color schemes and many other details but today when I sat down to create my layout for this post I had an idea and just went with it. I started using any product that I thought would create the effect I wanted and I worked without thought to traditional design concepts.  I really had fun.

Polar Expressions by Imaginisce was a joy to use.  I loved all of the fun patterns and colors of the paper.  The 3D stickers were perfect embellishments for my snowy scenery.  Don't you just love the wreath?  I do!!

 

I love the texture of the Liquid Pearls that I used to create snow caps.  I also used some Flock on the snow ground as well.  

 

Do you see the snowflakes?  Those are actually pieces cut from some adorable ribbon.  As a final touch, the green glitter Thickers were perfect for my title.  

Most all of the supplies that I used on this layout can be found at Embellish-it Online Scrapbooking.

Paper:  Jolly Jingle, So Beary Merry, Sugar Sprinkles, Flannel PJ's, Fun Drops, Comfy Cozy

Thanks for stopping by today.  Don't forget about my card sketch challenge.  You will be very happy with the prize if you win!