It's a Date!!

Hey there! Well, here in Louisiana we are back in the swing of things...early mornings, homework, chasing kiddos...you know school is in session!! But I have to say, I kinda like it. In the summer we just float by, but during the school year we have a pretty tight schedule. It just seems as though I get more done...kinda should work the opposite, but oh well. So, have you scrapbooked all of your summer pics? Nope...well how about we make a date? You, me, and a little Echo Park Sweet Summertime to create this...

TOP 10 of Summer 2010!!

Join me at the Right at Home Scrapbooking Gallery Monday, August 30th for a week full of tips, techniques, sketches, and chit-chat, all to help you create this sweet, sweet mini-album!!! You can find the class HERE.

Hope to see ya there!!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Some of the greatest times of my kiddo's lives are spent with their grandparents. On Saturday, July 17th we celebrated my father-in-law's 60th birthday. He is a handsome devil, and does not look a bit over 35...a girls gotta work every angle if you know what I am sayin'!! ;) And if there are 4 little people that he can not get enough of, they are his grandchildren. To watch this man interact with my children just warms me to my very soul. He is patient, he talks to them like their hearts are as fragile as china, and he hugs them like it is his very last hug...it is true love in its most genuine and beautiful form. Don't ya think he deserves the most perfect gift? Well like any adult past the age of 35, you can not find one thing in the USA that he does not own! So, like the good old crafter I am, I made his present with a little help from my 4 babies. Here is a look at his gift...

We {heart} Grandpa

I created a tag album with Bo Bunny's Flutter Butter Collection. It was the perfect combination of blues, greens, yellows, and browns. Sweet, yet masculine, just like my father-in-law.

The album was made up of 5 tags. The first, of course, for the title, and the last 4 had a pic of each of my kiddos and a special note to their grandpa from them. Take a look...priceless...



Isn't that the sweetest. I can not look at it without crying. My father-in-law is such a special man, and I think that this was just the gift to let him know how much he means to us!

Happy Birthday Mr. Chris! LOVE YA!!!

Mini Madness at Right at Home!!

Happy Summer EVERYONE!!

I am soooo happy that summer is finally here! And truly I am probably only saying that because it has not made up to 95 degrees yet! Give it some time, and I will be praying for Fall! At Right at Home we have had a couple of weeks of mini-albums, and they have been wonderful! I am a part of such a fabulous DT. I am inspired by every project they produce.

Well today is my turn...and I guess you could say that my mini is certainly different from all of the others? Not necessarily different in techniques, but different in content. As you know I am from the South...WAY SOUTH! I mean you can't really get anymore south than Louisiana, right? And things are different in Louisiana. We love rich, spicy food, we have a very distinct accent, there is lots of green, and not much concrete. Which brings me to the topic of my mini-album. Our state's nickname is "Sportsman's Paradise" because we have an abundance of water and forests that house plenty of animals. Yep, animals and one in particular gets a lot of attention...the alligator. Now they are not walking the streets per say, even though in some places within the state they can be spotted sunnin' on the side of the road, but they are in most bodies of water. It is just life here, and we are oh so fascinated with the dinosaur! Last summer I took my 4 kiddos to visit the local alligator park...yep, you heard me, we have parks designed around the monster! And let me tell ya, it was a great time!! We learned soooo much and had such a great time that we plan to visit again in the next couple of weeks! Take a look...

One Wild Summer Day

The title page is actually a piece of acrylic that I only put the title and a few embellies on. I made sure that the title and the embellishments complemented the photo on the second page.

This is the second page even though it can be viewed through the first. All of the shapes of the pages of my mini are different, which totally added to the fun of my album. I covered the chipboard with the oh so fabulous KI Memories Wildlife and punched holes around the chipboard using my Crop-a-dile...I love that thing! I then threaded the holes with twine and wrapped it around the side of the page.

Pages 3 and 4

Page 3 is covered with a coordinating patterned paper and the strip of ribbon down the side is actually the twine from the other side. I just tied tons of ribbon on it to give it a different look. And that adorable little journaling block is more of the KI Memories Wildlife line.

Page 4 is quite simple...except for those totally cute brads!!! Yep, more KI Memories!

Pages 5 and 6

Pages 7 and 8

Pages 9 and 10

The strip of tickets were actually cut from a piece of KI Memories lace cardstock! I love the way the cardstock looks, but I have trouble using the entire sheet as a whole. I have learned to cut-it-up and works much easier!

The entire album is put together using the totally fabulous Bind-it-All!! Lynn mentioned in her post that the Bind-it-All is super easy to use and gives your mini-album a great look, and I totally agree! The back cover is also doubling as the last page of the mini-album. I really wanted to comment on "The Grand Finale" page, but to be able to add so many pictures, I could not add a journaling spot. So, I used the back cover for a place to journal and managed to fit it all in!

So that is it! I concluded mini madness over at Right at Home. I'm kind of sad though...it was super neat to see everyone's different mini-albums. Well the summer holds more fun and inspiration at Right at Home! If you have not seen the other mini's you really should take a look...it's totally worth the click!

Thanks for stopping by! See ya soon.

So, I've been a little busy...

WOWEEEE! What a busy week...and last week...and the week before. Do you think this will ever change with 4 kiddos? Probably not, but I am starting to understand that whole mommy's taxi notion. We officially started summer softball ladies and gentlemen, and we only have 3 of the 4 kids involved. I'm just wondering can a 9 year old drive? I mean, we live in the country and kids start driving young...quit looking at me in that accusatory manner before I explain myself. Since we live in a small town we only have one team in each age group, and we are soon to have to travel around the parish to bring our kids to their games. See, now ya feeling sorry for my huh? We may soon have the girls playing at the same time, but at different complexes...HOLY COW!! So again I ask, is 9 years old too young to start driving? Ok, maybe so, but she does have a helmet for her bike...just kidding.

Anyhoo, I have a few scrappy things to share today...April Fool's Day...Good Friday Eve...or plain old Thursday (Sorry Grandma...Holy Thursday). Hope you are having a good one. Twisted Sketch #43 was revealed last night and here is a look at my layout.

Comfort and Joy

The sketch incorporates one of those "scallopy thingys" that every manufacturer is including in their lines these days. The twist this week is super easy...PATTERN-any how...any way. You can find this week's sketch right HERE.

I also have a little Right at Home project to woooooo ya today! With Mother's Day and Father's Day quickly approaching, I thought I would make a little gift for my sweet hubby for Father's Day...take a look!

U R the BEST daddy because...

So my dear husband is a business man (he likes it when I call him that...LOL!) and sits behind a desk all day long (doesn't like it sooo much when I say that...hehe). And since he is confined to his poor office all day, I thought why not brighten up his day with a few pictures of the people for whom he works so hard! (Really don't feel bad for the man...it is a huge office with his own bathroom and he is surrounded by the sweetest ladies ever...just trying to set the mood ;) So I asked each of the kids why they thought daddy was the best daddy and designed a mini-album, if you will, with my Bind-It-All that can be displayed as an accordion frame...cute huh? Here are a few close-ups...

First off, I used the Oh-so precious Super Stud line by Bella Blvd. to create my project. I simply covered a chipboard album with patterned paper, front and back if you want to display it as a frame...you don't want your guests to stare at boring chipboard on the back, and connected each of the pages with my Bind-It-All. Make sure that you bind it before you embellish it because it may get to thick to slip it into the machine. I then laid the frame flat and got to work. Everything that you see, with the exception of some stash ribbon, came from Right at Home! All of Bella Blvd's lines come with adorable patterned paper, a "Bit of Bella" patterned paper, which is a piece of patterned paper made up of strips and cute little sayings, and cardstock stickers. They were all just perfect to create this little gift for my "SUPER STUD"...sorry, he reads my posts, and girls gotta do what a girls gotta do...ya know what I am saying?

Well, I hope you are a having a fantastic week! We are actually off of school tomorrow, just in time for me to put some last minute tweaks on Easter stuff! But most importantly, no softball!! *I am doing a happy dance and it is pitiful...includes a little running man, Rodger Rabbit, and Cabbage Patch...yea you know* I will be back soon to show off my Paper Poppy design team projects for April, but you should really check out the blog because Juliana Michaels is the guest designer! EeeK!! She is showing off her goods today, and the super-fab Aphra Bolyer will be tomorrow! Happy Holy Thursday! ;)

All Done...

...with my Right at Home Halloween projects! Lisa sent me a ginormous package last month full of Right at Home goodies, and one of the kits was the My Mind's Eye Halloween Line, Boo To You! It is stinkin' cute! ...So...I have officially finished scrapping all of my Halloween pics from this year...yea...you heard me...October 31, 2009! Wanna know how? A Halloween mini-album! I know this is certainly no big secret to most of you, but this is actually my first mini-album and I am HOOKED! Take a look...

Goodness...isn't that already some ca-ute stuff? There it is the adorable My Mind's Eye Halloween Line, Boo to You! For my mini-album, I decided to tell the story of my kiddo's Halloween night. So what better to begin with than..."Once Upon a Time". Turn the page...

..."There was a beautiful devil, a "mimja" with a hunting truck, a sassy witch, and a cute pirate!" With this layout, I used the die cut sheet to the max...I created a scene. Turn the page...

..."And they went on a hayride with their family and friends!" I think this is actually my favorite layout. I just cut strips of patterned paper a tad longer than the size of my pages (6 X 6) and tried to make them look sort of like a quilt, hand stitched in a couple of places, and made some yummy lollipop flowers. Go ahead...turn the page...

..."1st stop...Witch Way to Main Street." This is a tradition in our town. In Natchitoches, LA we are known for our festivities on Front Street or "Main Street." The town is most known for the annual Christmas Festival, but the Halloween festivities are certainly taking a close 2nd. So, we always have to make a stop to visit with our friends, trick-or-treat at the local shops, and dance in the street! With this layout I tried my hand at a few yo-yo flowers...fun, fun, fun! Keep turning...

..."They ate tons of candy..." I just love some paper piecing! And turn again...

..."They passed the time telling ghost stories..." I think this was my favorite piece of patterned paper. It was a precious lime green with spider webs covering it. My favorite...the little spiders hanging. Almost there...

..."And they ended the night with PIZZA!" What a long night! One more time...

...and just a little note from yours truly!

Like that isn't enough, I also scrapped a couple of layouts.

"The Great Pumpkin"

Here is the sketch I created for October...

...and my layout, which I stretched into a double-page layout!

"R Little Monster is Two"

Ok...I am done...again! As you can see, there was nothing but scraps left! Hope you are just about finished scrapping your Halloween photos...Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the bend!