Local activity

Here are some layout of some local activities we have done.

Fairytale Town:


I can't recall where the patterned paper is from (oops!) and the solid paper is from DCWV. The title was done with the Alphalicious Cricut cartridge. Of course I have got some Primas on there and some miscellaneous brads.

Fairytale Town is a cool place in Sacramento that is basically a park for kids with toys that are done in storybook/fairytale themes. There is a slide made to look like a big shoe ("There was an old woman who lived in a shoe..."), a "crooked mile" walkway, a pirate ship, a castle, a teepee, and so many other things to explore. Oh, and I can't forget the infamous piece of swiss cheese! There are even a few animals. It has been around forever and definitely needs some new paint on a few of the pieces, but the kids love it.

Train Museum:


The patterned paper is from a paper swap and the cardstock is just from those packs of untextured cardstock that you can pick up in JoAnn's or Michaels. I used the Storybook Cricut cartridge for the titile on this one and inked the title and the cardstock with Tim Holtz Distress Inks. The buttons are from a cheap package I picked up in the sewing department of WalMart.

The train museum in Sacramento is so fun. There are all sorts of trains to see...some you can even walk through. I love the dining car that has displays of different dish sets that were used on different railways (and are much more fancy than any dishes I own!) and the mail car that shows how they sorted and delivered the mail on a moving train. The second floor of the museum has pictures of trains and also a big selection of different toy trains...even Thomas! Definitely cool for the whole family.

Lacie & Javan layouts

Here are a couple of layouts I have done about Lacie & Javan. they have their days, but overall they get along really well and have fun and lots of good times together.

A Kiss From Big Sis:
I used the Alphalicious Cricut cartridge on this one.

L&J:
I used the Street Signs Cricut cartridge on this one.

It was a totally new concept to me to have such a plain white background, but I saw something in the Creating Keepsakes magazine that made me want to try it and so I did. I still need to add a bit to it, but I think it turned out okay. I have also been inspired by the layouts Becky Higgins does in the CK magazine...all very basic square patterns - so simple, but very visually appealing at the same time. I tried to make my own sketch using her basic ideas. If you haven't done a layout using either of these techniques, try it!

Sweet Heart

Compare and contrast...

I thought it would be fun to see my three full term pregnancy pictures side-by-side to do a little comparing and contrasting.
Here is how I have "grown" through the years:

(As always you can click on it to see it bigger)

More layouts...

Here are a couple of layouts I did of somewhat recent vacations/trips. Caleb & I went to Las Vegas (he had to go for a work conference and I went along for the free hotel room and some time off). Then Lacie & I went to Seattle (with my dad and brother) when she was a flower girl in my cousin's wedding. Here are the layouts I have done about those trips (so far...I have another to do still of the Seattle trip). I still need to add some Stickles and a few embellishments maybe, but overall they are pretty much done.

Las Vegas:
I used the Street Signs Cricut cartridge on this one.

Seattle:
I used the All Mixed Up Cricut cartridge on this one.

It Suits You

Back to crafting...

This blog has recently gone to all things baby and family, but now that I have a new camera (yay!) I can post some pictures of some layouts I have done. It is time to get this blog back to crafting!

I did these layouts of Lacie and Javan at the last Cricut swarm. Since I don't scrapbook much, I wanted to just get a bunch of pictures about them on a page - so here's what I came up with:

Lacie:
I used the Storybook Cricut cartridge on this one.

Javan:
I used the Street Signs Cricut cartridge on this one.

Also, if you like Queen & Co., they have just announced some new goodies for the year...check it out on their blog:
http://www.queenandcompany.typepad.com/

Happy Camper Scene

Seattle

Still no baby...

Well, still no baby, but I DO have a new camera (Yay! And a BIG thank you to my wonderful brother-in-law and sister-in-law!) and so I figured I should take a "before" picture. Here's what I look like currently (38 weeks):

Such BAD TIMING!

So I finally got my camera and scrapbook out to take pictures of some layouts I have finished in the past few months (since the last NorCal Swarm), and my camera seems to have croaked. Only 16 days from the day I am due to give birth...and my camera dies!!! BAD TIMING.

Here's a lovely photo of one of my layouts:


This camera has been on my Amazon wishlist since October...but Caleb said we didn't need to order a new camera when we had one that worked perfectly fine (even if it was 5 years old). Well, apparently we don't have one that works fine anymore, eh?

EDIT: I have the best brother-in-law and sister-in-law ever (okay, well I have two really cool sets, but this is regarding one set in particular) and a new camera arrived today!

Baby Daze

Well, creativity is temporarily on hold while I wait for the new baby to make his entrance (3 more weeks!!!). Actually, not totally on hold, but my creativity is focused on baby things and not paper crafting lately. I hope to have a project finished soon to share. :o)

But for now, I wanted to share something I am excited about...a nursing cover. I know, it's a sad day when you get excited about things like that, but alas...it has arrived. I ordered this NursEase nursing cover from WalMart and will be picking it up shortly:



Back in 2006 (when Javan was born) I made a nursing cover of my own creation...the cape. Here's how it looks:
(Sorry that my model wasn't wearing makeup...she's fired)

Folds compactly for travel...

Cute zig zag stitch on a soft blue plaid fabric...

I made my cape because I couldn't find anything that would cover what all I wanted to cover while nursing. I don't like letting my back fat hang out while I am feeding the baby, so I wanted something to cover all sides of me. Anyway, that is what I created.

I am pretty excited to try the new NursEase cover (the one I ordered from WalMart). It still covers the back, but isn't quite so huge. If it works well for me, I may end up making my own pattern from it and sewing another...maybe. I love paisley and am pretty excited about the paisley fabric. Normally I would have just made one myself from the beginning, but when I was trying to measure and figure out how to make one, I thought it wasn't worth the trouble when I could buy one for $17 (okay, or I could have spent $27 on Amazon - now I love Amazon, and generally they have GREAT prices... but this just shows that you need to shop around). Caleb makes fun of me sometimes because I try to make things on my own when I can buy them cheap (things like tortillas or lasagna noodles)...so anyway, I think I made progress.

***

My currently in-progress baby creation is a baby carrier. This I am making for myself...for cost purposes and just to get exactly what I want. Here's a few of the carriers I have seen and liked, and hopefully soon I will be able to show what I have successfully made (hopefully!)...

The ever popular Moby wrap:

Basically, this is just fifteen or so feet of fabric that you can wrap in various ways to hold your baby. I have read that it is extremely comfortable and easy on the back, but who wants to deal with 15+ feet of fabric?

The Baby K'Tan:

This has the features of a wrap, but with two sling-type rings of fabric that can be arranged and worn with a sash for various carrying methods. I think this is a great design, but wanted mine to be a tad different...and also didn't want to spend almost $60.

The My Baby Nest:

They call it the "wrapless wrap". Like the baby K'Tan, it has the capability for holding the baby/child the same as a Moby-type wrap, but with less material and no wrapping. The design is very similar...it has two rings of fabric (these are interlocked, like a chain) and then they have a belt with a ring closure for extra support (where the Baby K'Tan has a "sash"). This one is a bit above $60...again, I didn't want to spend that.

As you can see from the pictures, they all pretty much look the same once they are on, but are just different in how they are made. I loved the features of the Moby wrap, but didn't want to deal with all that fabric. I like the other carriers (Baby K'Tan and My Baby Nest), but didn't want to pay the price, and wanted a tad different design. So, what I am currently making is two rings of fabric (not attached) and a sash for extra support. I want the sash wider than is shown on the other carriers because I think it will be good not only for more support, but also just to keep the baby covered and warm. And, I was inspired by the Baby K'Tan to make a matching hat, so hopefully I will get that done as well.