baby x 2

Hidey Ho!

I promise to keep this short and sweet tonight.....Mr. Selfridge is coming on. Are you watching it?


A friend at work just had twin grandbabies.   So I made a cute little tag to go on the gift. 

Thats the Ticket and Distressed Dots sets.  Crumb cake, marina mist, bashful blue and whisper white cardstock.  Whisper white and marina mist inks.  Big shot, polka dot embossing folder, scallop border punch, bitty buttons, white bakers twine, label framelits, simple letters die (retired).


One of the babies names starts with a "p" and one with a "d".  I made a slightly larger tag like the Leprechaun tag. 

I dyed the white bakers twine with the Marina Mist ink.  I didn't use the matching punch because I wanted the tickets to be connected.  So I just used my handy dandy paper snips and cut around them. 

Alrighty then, thats all for tonight. I hope to be a little more regular here on the blog-o. 

Thanks for stopping by and hanging out. 

Blessings, b.

sicker than a dog

Why do we use that saying?  Is feeling like a sick dog the sickest a person can get?  I don't think so.  I don't feel like a dog either.  I just feel sick.  Like a cold/congested/sore throat/cough kind of sick.  Blech!

So I turn around and another week has gone by.  Sorry about that.  I haven't been as productive as I would like.  I did get my March Project Life done.  Well, mostly done.  I wanted to make a scrap page of my birthday but the one and only picture I have is horrible and I'm having a hard time doing anything with it.  So we'll wait until I feel better and we'll see what happens.

Classic numbers retired.  Delightful daffodil, rose red, poppy parade, basic black, old olive cardstock.  Poppy parade and black Stazon inks.  Big shot, simple alpha die, small oval punch (retired), 3/4" circle punch, wood sheets, naturally serif alpha die. 

This is the whole 2 page spread.  I had A LOT of stuff this month.  I swear it took me forever to figure out how to do the month card this time around.  Mainly just because I get interrupted a lot and I lose any b  vf b vcdrf  (see!  Thats 17 bugging me right now) 

what was I saying?  Oh yeah, I easily lose my train of thought. 

On the right there is an 8.5x11 insert with an attendance award for Grace.  On the back of that will go my birthday scrap page.

See the number 5 there?  I kept thinking of using a Scrabble piece but I was too lazy to go look through my extra pieces.  So I made something similar.  I stamped the 5 in Stazon on the wood sheet and then took the lid off of my chapstick and stamped the rim in Poppy Parade (that color is retiring May 31......so sad) and stamped around the 5.  Perfect size. 

No extra stamping goodies on this page.  Just life stuff.  See that pic on the left in the middle?  So many people use their Instax cameras that give these cute little Polaroid type pics. 

I don't have one of those. 

So I faked it.  I printed out a wallet size and then just left a larger white border on one side. 

Thats something to remember:  I don't have Photoshop or anything like that so I just use my Windows program that came with Windows 7.  It ony allows me to print regular size prints.  Nothing fancy here folks.  I know, obviously Beth.

Alrighty then. I have every family member within touching distance around me right now, I guess I'd better get dinner going. 

Thanks for being patient with me. 

Oh yeah, before I go, Ali Edwards is starting her Week In The Life this week.  I am doing it with her and I want you to do it too.  You don't have to start today if you don't want.  You can start whenever, just start.  Thats all that matters.  You can see mine from last year here.  I'll update you on it tomorrow........I think......I hope.........I'll try. 


Thanks for stopping by. 

Blessings. b.

Feb. Project Life

WOW!  2 posts in the same week!  Whats the world coming too?  Don't worry, things will go back to normal soon enough....;)

So today I got February done for my Project Life and I wanted to show you before I started adding the cards from the classes. 

Ready?

Either we had a little more going on for Feb. or I just saved more stuff.  I have 2 extra inserts! 

Supplies: simple alpha die, big shot and word window punch

We went to Northern Arizona University for a tour.  This is one of the colleges 17 is considering.  It was a whirlwind trip.....up and back, 36 hours.  Yep, I was tired.

Really nice school.  Good food.  Nice program for her chosen major.

I added a 6x12 insert for some extra pics.  I probably could have squeezed out a 2 page spread but it was such a quick trip I didn't take a ton of pics.  I'm loving this long insert without having to fight the sewing machine to get one. 

Here is the back side.  I added the Valentine cards the hubs and I exchanged.  You can tell which one is mine, right?

Then I also added an 8.5x11 insert.  I had a letter for Grace I wanted to include so I used this side to include some info from the tour.

This was Grace's Honor Band invite.  Had to include that!

Lots of miscellany here.  I had printed out the pic of their Valentine cans to use in the 3x4 pockets but that didn't flow like I wanted.  So instead of printing out another pic I just stapled it in.  I'll have something behind it for March so it won't be floating anymore. 

There you have it.  Yes, this took a few hours to finish but if I only spend a few hours a month to document our lives well, thats time well spent.  Just don't overthink it.  Have fun! 

Remember I said that Grace was going to miss last nights concert because of her cast?  Yeah........no.  We had told the dr. that she played flute and he tried to make the cast usuable so she could still play.  She had tried when we got home that day and.....no way, couldn't do it. 

Of course she kept trying and she managed it.  She was so excited for the concert last night and her teacher is so awesome she let Grace play.  Gotta love people who love their jobs.  Especially if their job involves kids. 

She couldn't hold it out straight like she usually does but hey, whatever works!  I'm so glad she has found something that she loves. 

Alrighty then, thats if for today.  You probably need to recuperate from the shock of 2 posts in 2 days anyway. 

Thanks for stopping by.  I love it when you do that.

Blessings, b.

slowly but surely......

.........its taken me over a week to get this post together.  And its not even all that exciting. 

But I want to share with you anyway.

First things first, Valentine's Day.

Yep, it was 10 days ago and I'm just now getting around to showing you what I made.  I am a magnet for distraction. 

No stamps!  Crumb cake, whisper white, real red, early espresso and melon mambo cardstock.  Soft suede ink.  Simple alpha die, big shot, label framelits, small heart punch, large paper doily die, double ribbon punch, cork sheets, lattice embossing folder, designer frames embossing folders, wide oval punch, wood sheets, bakers twine, hemp, forest lodge DSP (retired), and dimensionals.


Kid Valentine treats.  I got these cute little paint cans in the $spot at Target.  Love Target!  They each held an entire bag of candy.  I'm embarrassed to say it didn't take them too long to eat them all either. 

I used the wood sheets with the Label Framelits (occasions mini).  It cut with no problem at all.  Niiiiice.

For the girls' tags I cut a label and then embossed it with the Designer Frames embossing folders.  Then I took a dauber with the soft suede ink and daubed ink on the raised dots to give it a litttle definition. 

I then used the lattice embossing folder and punched out some wide ovals.  Super easy but looks involved.

Here are the tops.  I cut down the large paper doily, (I love that thing!) to fit the lid.  I left the boy's naked.

Fabulous Phrases and woodgrain.  Crumb cake, real red and whisper white cardstock.  Black Stazon and crumb cake inks.  Wood sheets, bakers twine, sponging, red craft paint, paper towel tube, jewelry tag punch and dimensionals.

This is the card I made the for the Husband.  4.25 x 4.25.  I love these wood sheets.  They cut just like cardstock.  I didn't have a heart stamp the right size or thickness so I made my own.  Here is how I did the hearts:

I cut down the paper towel tube.  Using a toilet paper one would delete the cutting down part.  But you got that right?

I pinched it on the bottom and then pushed in the top.  To keep the shape I used a rubberband. 

I had to use our ancient mouse pad in order to get a good impression. 

Stamp the background, put it all together and you get, this.  I'm loving that cute little jewelry tag punch.

I popped up the wood sheet with dimensionals. 

12 days ago we also went to Arizona to check out NAU.  Very nice place.  The food was good.  17 seemed to like it. 

In a few weeks we are going to Oregon.  Anybody in the Portland or Eugene or Ashland areas?  We will be there a week looking at colleges and checking out the housing market.  This is one of the states we are considering moving to.  Is there anything we should see or do?  I appreciate any and all ideas.


We also had our very last Father/Daughter dance.  Sniff.  We are having a whole bunch of "lasts" this year.  Its all going too fast and I'm trying to soak it all in. 

For some reason dad is out of focus.  They took pics there so hopefully they were both in focus for those. 

Alrighty then, thats all for now.  Who Do You Think You Are? is on and I love that show.  I'm going to be very crafty in the next few weeks so hopefully I'll have lots to show you.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  You give me warm fuzzies.

Blessings, b.

Are you there?

Once again I'm sorry about disappearing on you.  Things got super hectic again and I got caught up in too many things. 

So I slowed down....................well, as much as the kids would let me.

I played LOTS of Christmas music (love my Johnny Mathis) and cooked and shopped and visited and ate way too many goodies.  Way too many.

I hope you were able to enjoy the holiday with your loved ones.

Now a new year is going to start and I'm thinking of what I want to do differently this year.  There is so much room for improvement.  Leave a comment here or shoot me an email and let me know what your 2012 goals are and I'll share mine as soon as I narrow the list down. 

So for today I want to show you a few things I worked on for Christmas.  The Dec. Daily is really behind but I will be showing you that also in the next few days. 

Delicate Doilies.  Garden green, crumb cake and poppy parade cardstock.  Versamark ink.  Whisper white embossing powder, simple letters die, big shot. 


Remember 17 had that Secret Santa thing in yearbook?  Well this was another little gifty for the girl. 

Quick, simple and cute.  I used the Coluzzle to cut out the circle. 

Loads of Love stamps.  Crumb cake, whisper white, old olive and riding hood red cardstock.  Black Stazon ink.  Leaves #2 die, big shot, 1/2" circle punch, cropodile, Brights Patterned DSP, old olive striped ribbon, cherry cobbler bakers twine. 

Teacher gifts.  I had some really old kraft boxes that SU! used to sell and are selling again in the Holiday Mini, to box up some crackers and cookies. 

The tags have a Starbucks gift card in them.  We had the idea to make the leaves look like holly but I kept thinking they look like antlers.  I didn't tell Grace that though :). 

Loads of Love and Woodgrain.  Crumb cake, riding hood red and whisper white cardstock.  Garden green and choc. chip markers, crumb cake ink.  White taffeta, Frostwood lodge DSP, Designer frames embossing folders, big shot, wide oval punch and dimensionals.

Here is THE Christmas card.  I really like them.  They seriously only took me a half hour to design.  That is super fast for me.  I don't send that many out so I got about 18 of them done in a few hours.  WooHoo!

My desk was too messy to take a pic on. 

This was the first time using the Designer Frames embossing folders.  I kinda dig them!  I don't have any Christmas stamps so I searched around for what would work.  The tree from Loads of Love fit perfectly!

I used markers to ink up the tree.  I sponged everything, which I don't normally do.  Too much work.  I've become a lazy stamper. 

Loads of Love and Delicate Doilies.  Crumb cake, riding hood red and garden green cardstock.  Garden green and choc. chip markers, whisper white craft ink.  Frostwood Lodge DSP, wide oval punch, Designer Frames embossing folders, corner rounder and dimensionals.


This is a gift card holder.  Super easy to do!

I made a belly band to go around it to hold it closed. 

And here I am working hard to get things done.  Just keeping it real................

Thanks so much for keeping the blog cozy while I was gone.  I have plans to be much more consistent. 

Blessings, b.

Dec. Daily?

Nope, not yet.  I did get my pics printed out today and started with some journaling but then, 17 needed some help.

She is doing a Secret Santa thing in her yearbook class and needed an idea of what to give tomorrow.  They are supposed to do a little something everytime they meet and then a bigger something on the last day before vacation. 

So I suggested a cute little packet of fruit snacks. 

She didn't like that idea.

What if I make a cute little tag and ribbon, like a present?

Yep, that would do. 

She picked out the bow and so I tried to match the color.  Welcome in Pear Pizzaz! 

Holy Cow!  I thought this would be a cute/fast/easy tag to make. 

HA!  I was wrong.  This sucker took me 2 hours!  I just wasn't feeling it.  Or I should say, I could think of things to use.........things I didn't have. 

So here is what I came up with.

Elements of Style.  Crumb cake, whisper white and pear pizzaz cardstock.  Crumb cake ink.  Big shot,  scallop square duo die, simple letters die, rhinestones, brights patterned DSP, 3/4" circle punch and dimensionals.


It measures 2.5 x 3.75.  I'm happy enough with it.  Considering I don't know a thing about this girl and for all I know she'll chuck it in the trash. 

And here she is all gussied up.  I'd be happy to receive this.  Wouldn't you?

Alrighty then, its past my bedtime.  Everyday I get one step closer to getting the Dec. Daily done.  Tomorrow I should have something to show you. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I love it when you do that. 

Blessings, b.

recap

Hola mi amigos!  How is everyone today?  I've caught up on all the things I was behind on last week but this week is getting crazy too.  Every single day for the next 10 days is packed.  Jam packed!

So let me recap the very important week I had last week.  Lots of pics here tonight.

First I have to show you an award The Boy got.

I laughed quite heartily when I saw this.  Does his teacher know him well or what? 

Then there was..........GRADUATION! 

Hmmmmm......I did much better with this than I thought I would.  I was so busy the day before and day of, that I didn't really give it much thought until................they started playing Pomp and Circumstance. 

Then I wanted to lose it.  But I didn't.  Just 1 or 2 tears.  The rest of the time I kept it in check and my eyes only welled up.  I hid behind my sunglasses.  Don't want to be the embarrassing mom you know.  Well, sometimes I do ;)

See the medal?  He was an Honor Graduate.  So proud of him. 

Most of my pics of him look like this.   He was looking into the sun but the expression says, "do you have to do this?"  Yes I do.  I told him he had to pose for some pics.  This moment needs to be documented.  The other boys were more happy to pose. 

He has known these 2 boys since they were 8.  My heart just about bursts when I see how much they've grown and stayed good boys.  They are all going off to college (2 different colleges right next door to each other) and then all hell will break loose probably.  But for now they are good boys.  One of them is even an Eagle Scout. 

He got 2 graduation gifts before we even sent out the announcements so I made up some 1/4 sheet note cards for him to write thank yous on.  They don't fold.  He slipped them in with the announcement when he sent them.  He wrote the best thank yous.  I was quite impressed. 

It uses a very old retired stamp from the set Sketch and Event.  I saved the hat because I knew I would need it someday.  It also uses Thank You Kindly. 

In the few days leading up to the last day of school, Grace and I had to make gifts for her teachers.  This is what we came up with. 

Grace decorated some pots and we planted some flowers and made a little Thank You banner.  Like my last minute pic in the back seat?

Flight of the Butterfly and Inspired by Nature.  Old olive and rose red inks.  Crumb cake and naturals ivory cardstock.  Natural hemp and a bamboo skewer.


Why did I take a pic of the uglier one?  The other banner just seemed cuter.  Anway, I used the hemp to bind the banner to the skewer.  The teachers seemed to like them.


Then I also had a baby shower to prepare for.  2 of the ladies at work are expecting within 2 weeks of each other right when school starts again.  So we won't see them again until after they have the babies. 

A Word for You set (on the inside).  Early espresso, regal rose and whisper white cardstock.  Big shot, simple serif alpha die, square scallop duo die, square lattice embossing folder, white taffeta, neutrals button, paper piercer and dimensionals.

Can you guess that they are both having girls?  Almost everyone I know of (with the exception of 1) finds out what the sex is.  Why?  They say they want to get the right color.  Well, what are they going to do if the next one is a boy?  Buy all new stuff again in blue?  I think its better to just be surprised on delivery day.  Makes that special day even more special. 

So I'll laugh my head off if one of them turns out to be a boy.  I'm just mean that way. 

 

I tied the button on with some white embroidery floss.  Nice and tight.

I used the initial of what the baby's name is going to be.  The j was a little too tall  so I just chopped a little off the top. 

I think the square lattice looks like a soft blankie here. 

Speaking of blankies, I found these blankets at Target.  OMG!  They are so soft!  The reverse side is even softer!  I bought diapers and then swaddled them with the blanket.  I remembered how to do it!  I used a diaper pin to secure the tail. 

The white ribbon is just the ribbon that the blankets came with. 

Alrighty then.  I have to make some cards for the people that are leaving my school next year.  They are closing my school and reopening it as a charter school.  So lots of people are leaving and going to other sites.  I have no idea what I'm going to make. 

Father's Day is Sunday.   I guess I'd better get on that too.  It never ends....................................

Blessings, b.

groovy squares

Oy!  Another week gone by.......sorry.  I really had good intentions.........really I did.

I have so much I'd like to chat about but, I won't tonight.  Because tonight I'm posting for Shelli. 

You know Shelli?  Of course you do.  She is the genius that is Stampin' Up!.  She is a wonderfully warm person that makes you feel happy just chatting with her.  I like you Shelli.

She also has a contest on her blog each month.  I've entered twice and won once.  Its so much fun to win.  Why don't I enter more often?  You can enter too.  Come on everybody, let's stamp!

This month is scrapbooking.  May is National Scrapbooking month.  I still haven't finished the page we talked about last week but, I will. 

Here is today's page:

NO STAMPS!  Whisper white craft ink.  Crumb cake, whisper white and melon mambo cardstock.  Brights Patterned DSP, big shot, polka dot embossing folder, butterfly punch, white thread, 1.25" square punch, corner rounder, Simple letters die, subtles buttons and corner rounder. 

I asked 16 if I could take her pic and she said, "O.K."  I couldn't get my camera fast enough.  She never says yes.  We had a blast.  Here is the journaling:

This is what I want to remember
---RIGHT NOW---
being silly and funny
making me laugh
making you laugh
being with you
sharing your life
watching you grow
thanking God for
giving me the opportunity
to know you
This is what I want to remember
---YOU RIGHT NOW---

I knew I wanted to use these groovy squares.  They've been floating around the web lately and they are easy to do.  Just punch a square and round opposite corners.  Groovy baby!

You can't really see it too well but I rubbed some white ink on the raised dots here.  I wanted them to show up just a little bit more. 

I wanted to continue the groovy square thing over here.  Just to balance things out. 


So there ya go.  Before I go I wanted to say a Happy Memorial Day to all our families that have or are serving in the military.  God Bless all the mommas and daddies that have had to raise their babies on their own because their spouse has passed.  God Bless all the mommas and daddies that are sacrificing for our freedom.  Thank you. 

Alrighty then, thanks so much for stopping by and keeping the blog warm. 

Blessings, b.