Christmas in September???

I can't believe it's almost September and I just started making this year's Christmas cards.  I normally start them in July (Christmas in July, right?), but this year I just couldn't find the time.  A girl has to priortize, ya' know, and swimming was way higher on my list this year.

In any case, I did get a few made, but promise I'll work on some more very soon.  These were all created using the Be Merry Collection by Kaisercraft.  Here are a few of them:

 

It's an ice skating extravaganzaa!

Our whirlwind of a week is finally over!  Bri is a senior this year and Eric has gone back to college.  This means our "normal" life has almost returned!

Part of our "normal" life includes ice skating.  Bri has been skating since she was 7 years old.  She belonged to a Synchro Team for a few years, but has decided that private lessons are really what she wants to do.  That gives her the opportunity to compete as an individual, rather than a team.

It's pretty difficult to find anything related to ice skating in the scrapbook world, so when Moxxie came out with their Ice Skating collection, I was thrilled!  I immediately scrapped some of her latest competitions, but I also went back and did some older shows.  Here's a few samples:

Another birthday layout...I'm on a roll this week!

This past weekend we celebrated my nephew's girlfriend's 21st birthday!  We had a blast and I couldn't wait to get some layouts done for all the pics I'd taken.  Here's a layout featuring the Happy Day collection from SEI (which, by the way, is currently on sale).  This collection features browns, pinks, blue, oranges, greens and a host of other vibrant colors.  The papers are all either varnished or glittered and are only $.49, and the stickers are glittered, too.  I also added some Core'dinations paper for accent and mating along with some hot pink Thickers stickers.  Now I just need to go get the pictures....

 

Happy Birthday to my very punny hunny!

Yes, today is my husband's birthday, so I thought I'd do something special for him.  He is a very "punny" kind of guy.  Over our 20+ years of marriage, I've listened to more than a few corny puns.  So, today I am going to get him back.  Here's the card I made for him.  While it's certainly not my most creative, I can assure you I saved the best for the inside.  Ready boys and girls...hold onto your hats...this is a good one:  Happy Birthday "tulle" you! 

OK, when you drag yourself up off the floor from laughing, go ahead and feel free to steal my pun and have a great day! 

Happy Birthday to...I don't even know you yet!

We have a new addition coming to our family, and I'm super excited for a few reasons:  a) because I'm NOT pregnant, 2) because I love new babies, and 3) because I LOVE making baby scrapbook albums!  At first the concept was a bit foreign to me because I couldn't imagine making a book without photos.  However, I adjusted and found out it was just as much fun. 

This layout was done for my nephew's first baby's book.  I used the collection Let's Party from Best Creations.  I like their papers because they have glitter on them and it doesn't come off...no, really!  Plus the colors in the collection were neutral, yet appropriate for children. 

Did I happen to mention I feel like I lost my right arm?

All you Cricut Gypsy users out there will surely be able to sympathize. I've been without my Gypsy now for about 2 weeks. When I returned from a scrapbook retreat in July I realized that it would no longer power up. Talk about feeling like I've lost my right arm. I guess I didn't realize just how dependent I was on it, but I am. So much so that I forgot I could actually cut from the cartridge (that is so the 90's).

So all excuses aside, this is one of my favorite cuts from Cricut.  This fancy guitar comes from the Hannah Montana cartridge, as do the music notes.  This layout was from the Bon Jovi concert I attended with my sister and my daughter.  I loved the fact that the three of us could just hang out and enjoy the music!

Just as a side note, ProvoCraft was wonderful about working with me to get my Gypsy replaced at no charge.  I am just waiting for a new one from them now and then will have to reload all my cartridges.  I am hoping to be back in business by next week! 

Remember

Today's layouts feature the Fourth DC collection by Reminisce, along with a glitter word embellishment (remember) from KI Memories.  The Fourth DC collection is very versatile; one side of the papers are all patriotic themed (although duly appropriate for Washington, DC layouts) and the opposing sides are all directly related to Washington, DC. 

I decided to use the paper for neither theme, but instead, for a small memorial that my husband and I happened upon during a recent visit to Watertown, TN.  The small town had a flag flying above several headstones.  Each headstone contained the name of a war and a list of those from the community who served.  It was a truly humbling sight to see.

It's time to make the donuts!

Today's layout features the Bake Shoppe collection from Moxxie.  One of my favorite things to do with the kids was make Christmas cookies.  By the time we were done, the kitchen practically needed remodeling.

This collection features four, double-sided papers in browns, blues, oranges and greens.  It also has a coordinating sticker and punch out page which is something new to Moxxie.  I used the punch outs in this collection and really like them!

Cherry Blossom Time!

A few years back I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Washington, D.C.  I had never been there before, and was quite thrilled to be going.  I was doubly thrilled when I got there and realized that the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

This layout features the Glitter Cherry Blossom paper from Paper House Productions.  Unfortunately, the glitter does not show up very well in the photo.  The paper is, however, absolutely beautiful.  I kept the layout simple because I didn't want to detract from the cherry blossoms.  I also used a 3-dimensional sticker from Paper House.

Splish Splash we are takin' a bath!

My kids always loved playing in the bathtub! It didn't matter how cranky they got, if we put them in the tub their spirits lightened and they were no doubt laughing before it was over!  Some of my fondest memories are of me huddled over that tub laughing along with whatever silly things the kids were doing.

This layout features the Tub Time paper from the Special Delivery collection by Moxxie. I think I got so caught up in the memories of those days that the layout ended up being relatively simple.  What stood out most in my mind, though, were the names they called each other.  Brianna called Eric "Ardeet" and Eric called Brianna "Nani".  That was what I wanted to capture in this layout, so simple seemed like it would work.   

Summer is just Cruising Along....

I cannot believe that it is August already; I swear I just flipped the calendar from May to June.  What happened to July?  We've had a really beautiful summer, so I'm not complaining, but I really would like it to last longer! 

When I came in from enjoying the cooler temperatures last night, I was feeling nostalgic and decided to peek through some of the albums I have laying around the house in various rooms.  I happened upon a few that I thought I would share.  The albums themselves are all from Kaisercraft's Beyond The Page collection. The paper collections vary, but for most of them I used collections from Reminisce (H2O - cruise ship, Coastal Passion - sand castle, Christmas Basics and Real Magic - Disney ).  I have to admit, these were some of the quickest, easiest, most enjoyable albums I've ever done.  If you've never tried doing a small album or are just afraid, I highly recommend you give the Kaisercraft Beyond the Page albums a try. 

Caution! Slippery When Wet!

One of our family's favorite past times is swimming.  We've always loved the outdoors and spend as much time outside as possible, including in the pool! 

This layout features the Fun In The Sun Collection from Karen Foster Design, along with the Core'dinations embossed paper from Stacy Jillian.  Even though the kids are older now, they still enjoy horsing around in the pool.  This year has been exceptionally warm, so it's easy to catch a few shots of them even when they think you aren't looking!

More from the Special Delivery Collection

A few days back I posted a layout using the new Special Delivery collection from Moxxie.  I also promised that I would post a layout of the blue (male) version of this collection as well, so here it is.  Unfortunately, I still don't have these collections up on the website, but I promise I will get it done this week!

This is like Christmas in July!

This weekend I returned from a short trip to find that I had several boxes of new product delivered while I was away!  I was so excited, but little did I know my day was even going to get better.  As I started catching up via Facebook, I noticed that Karen Foster Design  posted two of my layouts to their wall (and even said one of them was beautiful)!  Now if that doesn't make a girl grin from ear to ear I don't know what does! It sure did feel like Christmas in July!

I wish the whole month of July would have been as great, but unfortunately it wasn't.  My brother-in-law had to have surgery and thankfully is now on the mend.  Here's a layout and card I made for him using the new collection from Moxxie, Doctor Doctor.  This is a fun collection and touches on everything from not feeling well to getting glasses or braces!  I am so in love with the deep teal colors!