Sweet Memories

Dern

2012-02-10T09:45:00.000-08:00

I heard last weekend that the father of a friend of mine had passed unexpectedly. It made me really think about my own family and how much I need to treasure every moment with them. I love my family and push thoughts of losing them as far back into my mind as I can. Times like this remind me how fragile life is.

It is DONE

2012-02-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

I was asked my a family friend to make a cake for their youngest daughter's wedding. I was pretty excited to do another wedding cake, it's been a few months:) Then she pulled out the picture and my wheels started their turnin'. I really prefer not to hear about a cake too far in advance because I stew about it. I lose sleep thinkin' about all the aspects of building it. (dumb, I know) Anyway, it turned out that it was good to have a heads up on this one. I started to build that huge flower out of gumpaste. I thought I would just add a few petals each day. As I began, I had to figure out something that would anchor it to the cake. I found a cake flower spike and built the center of the flower onto it. cool. Then, as I added petals, it started to feel REALLY heavy. YIKES. I stewed about that for a few days. Then, the idea to do all the petals separately came. Okay. But how to stick them to the fondant....found a recipe for a meringue powder glue. cool. I was back on track. I made 36 of the petals and the center of the flower. They dried rock hard and were all done 2 weeks before the cake was due. Ahhh. Then, I started worrying bout the fondant. It had to be PERFECT because any flaw would show on this cake. I discovered a lade online that answered ALL my hangups. She is my hero. She invented this double layer mat that you can roll out the fondant inside. It keeps the fondant moist (avoiding the elephant skin look) and enables you to roll it out 1\2 as thick so it isnt as heavy on the cake. You can actually transport the fondant to the cake while it is still stuck to the mat. No more worrying about positioning it wrong or tearing it in transfer. It was only $18 for the mat and TOTALLY worth it! So, that's the story. It was a beautiful day. I got to go to the temple with Tom and soak up the fabulous day. Love a happy ending...for a cake:) This is the response from the bride's mom:

Karen, Thank You so much for the cake. It turned out so beautiful, and so many people commented on how pretty it was. Someone even asked if we tried to coordinate it with the style of Mallory's dress!! Also, it was delicious. The banana layer was my favorite. Aaron's sister said it was so good that she actually had 3 slices! One funny thing that happened....when they cut the cake, Aaron took off the entire funfetti layer, cut it in half, and each of them held half the layer and "fed" each other! At first I was thinking...oh no.... I hope we have enough cake left for the guests! No problem, we had plenty and even brought some home!

Love it! The groom requested the funfetti layer. I was nervous about that because I make my cakes from scratch and have gotten away from store bought mixes. Glad he made the most of it:) Ha ha! The other layers were chocolate cake with white chocolate cream cheese mousse filling, white cake with blueberry\raspberry mousse filling, banana cake with bavarian cream filling. Supa!

Lellow.is.purdy

2012-02-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to be scrappin' pictures of such happy memories. I think that is the best part about scrapbooking for me. I love that I can pick up one of my books and just sink into pure bliss while peeking into the past. My boys, my hubby - they are my life and my joy. I am so blessed. I heard that Martina McBride song on the way to work the other day...and I must admit that I cried a little. That perspective is essential to my happiness and joy in this life. These pages are titled after a song that I remember my Daddy singing since I was tiny. LOVE IT.

HEIDI!!!

2012-01-22T20:01:00.000-08:00

Just seein' if yur payin' attention, Heidi. I found the most luxurious frosting reciper EVER! This stuff is so smooth, not overly sweet, creamy, lovely. Aaaah. Thanks to Williams and Sonoma.
It takes a few steps, but it is sooo worth it.
Step 1: In a stand mixer, beat 1 1\2 cups unsalted butter (room temp) until it is the consistancy of mayo. Transfer this to a small bowl and clean out the mixer bowl.
Step 2: In a small sauce pan, heat 1\2 cup whole milk and 1\4 cup sugar on medium heat until bubbles form around the edges, stirring occasionally.
Step 3: Using the stand mixer, beat 5 egg yolks and 1\2 cup sugar with the whisk on med-high speed until the mixture is pale and thick (3 minutes) Reduce speed to low and slowly add milk mixture. Return this new milk mixture to the saucepan. (Wash your mixer bowl again)
Step 4: Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until it registers 170F (5 minutes) Pour this mixture back into the mixing bowl and beat with the whisk on medium until it cools (5 minutes) Beat in 2 tsp. vanilla and add butter in 4 stages. I kept beating it for another few minutes until it cooled enough to thicken. OOOHHHH. Then, I added melted chocolate for chocolate frosting. IT was delish! So creamy and light. NUM.

To Die for Banana Cake

2012-01-21T08:32:00.000-08:00

So, I love finding PERFECT recipes...I am always on the hunt. I found this one online. It was SOOOO moist and yummy. It's a keeper.
Cake:
2\3 cup sugar
1\2 cup sour cream
1 egg
2 Tbsp butter, softened
2 mashed bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1\4 tsp salt
1\2 tsp baking soda

Frosting:
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1\4 cup heavy cream
1\2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1\4 cup confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream together sugar, sour cream, egg, and butter. Add mashed bananas and vanilla. Add flour, salt, and baking soday. Mix well. Pour into greased 8X8 pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes (using the toothpick test) Cool completely.

top with frosting. NUMMMO. Scrummy.
This recipe doubles easily into a 9X13 pan, too.

frower

2012-01-19T17:31:00.000-08:00

I am attempting a Garganshoooous flower made of gumpaste. As I started forming the petals, I discovered that the flower is going to be way too heavy to put on the side of the cake. So, I decided to make only this central part of the flower one piece. Then the bigger, outer petals can glue on the cake itself around the center and cascading down the cake. I can't wait to see the finished product. I normally don't like to think about cakes too far in advance, but I am so glad I do on this little wonder. I probably would have made the flower whole, had I not thought about how heavy it would be...or I would have waited til it was too late to wait between adding rows. ..only 36 more petals to make for the cascade. Lovely.

Great Memories

2012-01-16T10:37:00.000-08:00

When we were "homeless" for a year, I felt a need to get out and explore...to get the boys away from the everyday stresses. We visited parks, went to new eateries, and found places that we had never been. This was a BEAUTIFUL day March of 2010. It was such a perfect day, we decided to walk across the new Tacoma Narrows bridge. It was spontaneous (as usual. It's better that way). Then we found this nummy little cafe in downtown Gig Harbor to have lunch and round off the day PERFECTLY! Aaah. What a great memory (except for the part when one of my lovely children spilled their entire glass of water on my lap).

Sweet Treats!

2011-12-29T12:18:00.000-08:00

This was my second attempt at making a "better" Christmas card. I like these better, but they are not mail-able. They have bumpies on them and that makes Mr. Postmaster mad. He likes to charge me muchos for any bumpies on my cards. GRRR. think flat, Karen!

My new interest is perfecting the whoopie pie. I have tried two different recipes so far...getting closer, but not there yet. These were kinda yummy with cream cheese filling and candy cane crunchies on the outside. I gotta find a moister recipe. I know they have to be kind of cookie\cake mixeyish. We'll see. I'll be sure to share when I accomplish this task:)

Big Time

2011-11-16T11:48:00.001-08:00

Winter-like weather has set in around here. Grey, windy, rainy, bleh. It was High time to use some of my new Stampin' Up paper and stamps. I love the bright, cheerful, clean colors!!!! Things are trending toward dark, dank, swipey, dirty lookin'...it was all over at convention. I didn't buy a single piece of paper this year. This paper is so fresh and nice. Love it! It took my four tries to get the layout right, but here it is:)....I need to start making more of these to keep in my stash for those times when I get an inklin' to send a card and don't have time to make one. I saw a quote from Ralph Waldo E. that was about...it's never to early to do a good deed because you never know how early too late will come....somethin' like that. I need to follow my gut instinct a little more and get one it!

BIG mistake

2011-11-16T11:41:00.001-08:00

Our cubscouts are going to have to pay for their camp next year, so they had a little bazaar at the local community hall. I made some nummos to sell. I didn't have much time, so I just whipped these up and called it good. Slapped a pirouette cookie on top and wrapped them up...problem is...those cruchy nummy cookies turn...well...not so crunchy after being on top of a moist cupcake. Lesson learned! Ah, well, at least they sold out and made enough for ALL the boys to go to camp:)

Mondo cake

2011-11-16T11:39:00.000-08:00

I was asked to make the birthday cake for one someone at work...it turned out HUGE. It was a half sheet, but I always make the cake too tall for boxes that they sell to transport them in. Dern. So, I used a piece of PLYWOOD to carry it on. It was so heavy! I used my chocolate cake recipe, cream cheese mousse filling with fresh raspberries, and chocolate butter cream frosting.

Game ON

2011-11-07T10:43:00.000-08:00

Usin' up some pewter lookin' drops that have been hiding in my stash for too long:)

Love these memories of Unca' Tom and my boys sharing their love of sports.

Nope. I'm not tires of banners AT ALL!!!

I am so close to finishin' up 09, I can almost smell it:)!! Baby steps.... The yuck-o weather outside sure gives me more time to do this. I also need to clean up my space so I can bring home some new goodies this weekend. It's the annual convention in Bellevue...one of my favorite days that I get to myself. They are very rare, so I soak it up when I can:) I will stay focused this year and ONLY get BOY stuff. I have so many girly froofy cutsie things that I can't use in my books,
SO...hopefully there'll be some great masculine lines out there this year. (sorry I grabbed the wrong lens for this:) depth of field is screwy)

hurry quick...before work:)

2011-10-31T09:17:00.000-07:00

I have to work the afternoon shift today, so I get a few hours this mornin' to get some more pages from 09 done. Since today is the day the boys get to have their DONUTS at the Briggs' house, I thought I'd get those pics done from 2 years ago. I was laughing at these because Grandpa came out with a platter of mini donuts. This kids were sooooo disappointed to see them. They were trying to be polite, but they just couldn't hide their dismay. Finally, Allison went on the hunt and discovered the stash of donut boxes in the kitchen with the REAL donuts. These guys are HUGE. Gotta come with an empty stomach. I love playin' with my Copics:) The stamp is from Verve...so COPICABLE

Lately

2011-10-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

This time of year is so busy! Canning was a big job this year. I did 25 quarts of pears, 25 quarts of peaches, and 25 quarts of grape juice. MMMMM. The grape juice is delicious. I am also getting started on my Christmas cards. I do NOT like how they are turning out. I can't decide what I want to do to make them better. I guess I have a couple of months...sometimes you have to walk away for a while.

Scrappy day completed

2011-10-29T18:51:00.000-07:00

Finally, I have completed the pages I started at our scrap day. Just workin' too dern much. I love these happy colors. I had way too many pictures to fit on two pages, so I made this lil' mini album on page two that holds 9 pictures. SAWEET. Ya just have to cut a hole in the page protector so it can be accessible. Aaaaalmost done with 2009.

A lil' this and a lil' that

2011-10-02T14:24:00.001-07:00

I love red. I love banners. I love organizing. So, today was a FABULOUS day. I got to listen to conference online while organizing my scrappy area and decorating it with my new KatieLou banner exclusive:) LOVE IT! That is Happiness. Oh, and check out the flowers at the ends of the banner. Those cuties are made from the new CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.

Plaid Apples

2011-09-10T11:19:00.000-07:00

When I use my Cricut, I always forget to make the shapes out of patterned paper. I would normally have just made this apple from red cardstock and called it good. It is SO much cuter with patterned paper....I love the flower die from Papertrey that I used for this. I also used the leaf stamp and dies from Heartfelt. I had the yellow cardstock plain, at first. Then, I went back to my daubin' roots and love it so much more! It just warms it up. I used Autumn terracotta to smudge the edges. Mmmmm. Nummy. I actually made 4 of these at the same time to finish the boys' books, too...much easier that way.

I'm NOT blue!

2011-09-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

I love bright, cheerful colors for my boys' pages. It is so happy! I had these papers from Stampin' Up for only a day or two. That's as long as I could wait to use them. That has to be a record! I love how clean and crisp their color schemes are. Distressing has its place, but once in a while I like to have CLEAN! I like to decide if I want it distressed. Don't do it for me! Ya hear that CTMH??!! Katie, I know you're feelin' me on this. What happy memories:)

oh, just a blank

2011-09-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

A gal at work asked me to make a Transformer cake. Um. Nope. Not gunna do it. I am an organizer, not a sculptor. I organize the frosting and decorations to look good and that is it. ...unless it is gumpaste flowers:) So, I suggested Albertsons and she glared at me! Tee hee. I guess I am a step up from the local grocery store:) So, then I thought of those online companies that will send you an edible overlay of anything you can think of. Ta da! They even personalized it for her. Pretty cool. Here's the "organized" blank:
Michael's sells Duff cake goods and he makes a silver spray paint...pretty cool. it is very shimmery, but you can't tell from my hasty pics.

The DOOR

2011-08-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

When we first drove up to this house...I immediately started redo-ing it in my head. I knew what it would eventually look like. We have been here for 15 months and we're just now starting to get the outside looking a little more like that little picture I have in my head. This was the first finished thing outside! MY DOOR! I came home late one night from work to see the red door. I was so happy:) After inspecting it to see if Tommy did a nice job (ladies, I know you know what I mean:)), I smiled and smiled and smiled. Perma grin for days. I still smile when I drive up and get to see that door:) the light adds just the right touch. I'm in love...with a doorway!

Mom's pages

2011-08-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

I love when Mom gets to come over and scrap with me. We never get very much done, but it is time that I need to relax and talk:) This was the page that she was working on. I love getting to finally see more pictures of Tyler!!

Elegant bouquet

2011-08-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

Yet another paper pack that I have been saving for YEARS! This was just right for Sharon's sweater...and some great pictures that I want to cherish forever. These pages didn't need much. I like that. I really love the rub-on over my in-laws' picture.

Chocolate Blues

2011-08-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

I have had this paper packet for YEARS...it was high time to get it out and use it up. These pics were from a VERY awkward photo shoot Tom's family did. The chick had us posin' at a cemetery!!! There are headstones and markers in the pictures that she attempted to smudge out with photo shop. Needless to say, there were only a few acceptable pictures out of HUNDREDS! I did some embossing. It has been too long. I forget how much I love embossing with white on a dark color. I also combined my silver powder with some orange to get the rusty key. Pretty fun. MY squooshies already look so much older. This is why I scrapbook. I want to preserve every little smile and gooniness that these boys give me!

Ya wanna?

2011-08-04T18:35:00.000-07:00

So, I have successfully mastered the perfect chocolate cake recipe! I was at Michael's last week JUST to buy some cake boards for Megan's wedding cake when I stumbled upon the AISLE O' CUPCAKES. The whole stinkin' aisle was filled with cupcake wrappers and boxes to match and and and and:) LOVELY. I was silently squealing. So, I knew JUST what Maria NEEDED when she asked me to make some cupcakes for some friends' birthdays coming up. Oh, yeah. Scrum a num. My three taste testers (Big D, Barone, and Beetles) approved of the flava', so I am set:) Here is the recipe (drum roll please. Oh, and don't panic about the mayo...just DO IT)

Cream 1 3\4 cup sugar with 12 tablespoons (1 1\2 cubes) butter (softened)

Add 1\3 cup of mayo to this. Beat for 2 minutes

Add 4 large eggs (one at a time) ROOM TEMP

Add 2 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl, combine:

2 cups of ALL PURPOSE flour

3\4 cups cocoa

1 1\2 tsp baking soda

1\2 tsp salt

1 pkg of chocolate pudding mix:)

Add this dry mixture to the first mixture a little at a time...alternating with some milk (total of 1 1\2 cups ROOM TEMP).

This recipe is one that I have gathered over the years and from many different places:) I love how moist and rich it is. If you like dainty, light, fluffy...don't come knockin on my door:) ENJOY! This makes 2 8" rounds or 36 cupcakes. I bake the cakes on 325 and cupcakes on 350

Soopah-stah

2011-08-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

Lauren Meader is just that! I absolutely love what she does and what she shares. She used to design for Papertrey Inc, but has her own company now. Her templates are so easy and fun. You just download them, print them right on your cardstock that you'll be using, and WHAMO! Cuteness. This clutch took me about 10 minutes...seriously! This is what we'll be making Friday at our lil' get-together. Heidi, this is the template I mailed with you package. FUN. It's a nice size, too. Katie is gunna make cards\envelopes to give to her realtor if she finds her a house...I mean, WHEN she finds her a house to buy:) LOVE Papertrey cardstock. If you haven't checked it out, you should. Totally affordable and very luxurious:)...if paper can be luxurious. It is thick and sturdy and very rich in color. They do a nice job. See ya FRIDAY!!

Megan's got a new last name:)

2011-07-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

What a BEAUtiful day it was today. It was a long awaited sunny day. The drive down to the venue was perfect...along the sound to Steilacoom. I absolutely love that lil' old town...crystal blue sky, mountains and water in the background...just GORGEOUS! I mastered the chocolate cake recipe...finally. The white cake needs a tad more tweeking, but pretty darn good. I even got to add fresh raspberries in the fillings of the tiers. YUM.

Copicable is a WORD

2011-07-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

Ya know? I just can't seem to get a break. I have scrapped more scout and baseball pages in my life than I care to talk about. Don't get me wrong. I love my buddies and enjoy what they do, BUT, can I get a flower or froofy here and there once in a while. This is where you come in, Heidi:)

I love this paper set from CTMH. It was perfect for the occasion. The Copicable alphabet is also CTMH. LOVE IT. I love blending the colors. I find myself looking around for more copicable stamps:0 Here's a cute site: https://www.thereshegoesclearstamps.com/store/ I may have to get a few of these!

Sluggers

2011-07-05T21:51:00.000-07:00

Did I ever say that I LOVE my gypsy? Sure do. Yup. I welded the "sluggers" and slanted it. Ah. Just right. Now, i just gotta make another one of these for Dallin's book. Got a lil' Steppenwolf on and it's time to bust out more pages:)

Birthday Theme

2011-07-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

Katie Lou made this one...love the button cluster:) The speckles added a just-right-touch.

Chris made this beautimous card with gorgeous cardstock. I don't know if you can see it on the monitor, but it is a deep, sparkly black. Very classy.

This was mine. I had fun making it a lil' more boyish. The airplane's banner is continued on the inside...I even busted out my pearl paint for the clouds.

Patti made this card from a Martha Stewart set.... She made that ribbon lay so smoothly! I gotta find out her secret:) Fun colors.

Ladies, I loved having you over last Friday! We all made Birthday themed cards for our exchange. All turned out so different, so it was fun. After only 2 hours of talking and getting caught up, we made a 2 page layout with a template from Imagine. Our next exchange will be a layout using sewing.

Finally...

2011-06-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

I have had a WONDERFUL day so far!! I am tackling projects that I have had on my mind for FOREVER!! YEAH. I hope Tom keeps the boys gone for just a few more hours:) I gotta get this out of my system. I love the picture boards that I made with the help of my Dad and his router:) Years and years ago, when there was actually a store called Provo Craft, I bought a bag full of these knobs, just to hold onto for the perfect project. I painted them and cut out some vinyl with my cricut to go on top. LOVE IT! Then, I just bought some cheapo pine frames at Joanns and painted\distressed them. Ribbon was also dirt cheap at COD Wholesale.com. It was 50 yards for $5!!!

This is the view from my bed, so I can see my buddies every night:) I have another board on the other side of the window to balance it out. Just need to get my lil' plugs into the screw holes and it is FINISHED!

Just somethin' I saw in church once

2011-06-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

I saw a lady at church with one of these stickin' out of her scriptures...so pretty!! So, Kim said, "Karen, make those for us." Well, that was a year ago. I am so happy I finally got around to making these. They are so easy and pretty when they are done. Kids could do this for a cheap and easy project, too....achievement day girls:) I made 7 of these from one little strand of beads I bought at Joanns for $3. Not bad!

What a great day!

2011-06-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

Oh, I was so excited when the day came that my sweetie told me she was graduating from high school! Against all odds:) These pages made me smile! She loves green, so I pieced a bunch together. She is only about 5 ft tall...if even that:) she dreams of owning a BIG green truck. See the lil' rosette?? It is easy peasy with my new die from My Favorite Things. FUN. Yes, I used the cuttlebug...not my wizard. I think the wizard needs a new home. It's time. I'm going to play with the felt some more. I have a project in mind for my bedroom and a big letter B.:)

All Star Layout - no more baseball...PLEASE

2011-05-10T23:38:00.000-07:00

I am getting a tad bit burned out on doing baseball pages. I do them every year...one for each boy in my book and one for each boy in his book. Now you know why I jump at the chance to scrap my neices' pictures:) I really liked this layout, though. It was an easy one that just fell together. That was nice for a change. I was laughing at these pictures because I think this is the first time I had my new camera. I couldn't get that thing to focus on what I wanted to save my life:) So, I just took a hundred pictures and grabbed the best ones (not many:)) A fence in front of the camera really threw it off. These pictures were the only surbibers:) ( Katie, I can't say that word normal anymore)

I counted 7 different stamp sets that I used on this layout! Whew! That HAS to be a record. Just think...this is only 2009...I have 2 more years of baseball to get caught up on:) One bite at a time.

Finally finished these

2011-04-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

We got together last Friday to make some pages and have an exchange. LOVED the exchange. The gals did such a great job. I love that I can work with such talented people that push me. I had such a struggle finishing these pages. I couldn't get things to balance out. The idea behind these pages is to make them interactive. You can lift flaps, pull tabs, and open "books." The trick is to make slices in the covers that I slide them into in order to make interactive parts accessible. CTMH's newest book, "Magic" shows all the instructions for this. I love that it allows me to add more pictures\journaling than the basic page would. This will come in handy at Christmas time, so I don't have to make so many pages. There are two flaps to open and one tab to pull out that has all my journaling.

pssst....Heidi

2011-04-28T12:08:00.001-07:00

I have really acquired a love for purple....not as drastic as my first love, red, but lovely anyway. In fact, I just painted a wall in MY bathroom a lavender. LOVE IT. I had NO girly pictures to use with this layout from 2009, so I got to skip ahead to 2010:) We learned this technique at girls' weekend called bandana technique. The purple background paper on the left is what I made. The rest was easy. Girly pages always are. sparkles, butterfies, flowers, buttons, ribbon,....and it was all CTMH!! Love the new alphabet, too:)

Sa-weet

2011-04-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

These were for all the kids on Easter. I had some batter left from the cake below, so I whipped these up.

I finally found a use for these flowers that I made a few months ago:) Scott liked the jelly beans better, though:)

I finally got back into makin' cakes. I have been without a house, kitchen, time, etc for the last 2 years. Whew. It felt great to get back into it. I am especially lovin' my tip that lets me add filling to my cupcakes. I tried some new flavors, learned some new secrets:), and met the worst cupcake pan ever invented!!! These were for a gal at work. They were orange flavored with marmalade in the middle. scrum scrum

Banner Builder Set

2011-03-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

I have had the Papertrey Inc. Banner Builder set for a while now... so, I finally pulled it out and put it to use this week. I LOVE IT!!! This is the smaller of the set, but perfect for a scrap page. There are 5 different toppers to go with it, too. I could have dolled up the banner a little more, but I think it would have been overkill on a page...alone, maybe. I am still pre-nice-camera in these pictures, so I am scramblin to get these done:) I was also happy to use some really old CTMH B&T paper. I have a ton of that stuff, so time to use it up.

Goal: Better Titles

2011-03-22T15:51:00.000-07:00

I am so lazy when it comes to titles. I usually end up stating the obvious...like, "Christmas", or "Birthday Boy". So, I will try to get a lil' more original with my titles. This one is from a children's song that is sung when they are nearing the age of baptism. Aaaah, much better:)

Beach Babies- and Thparkly

2011-03-07T16:23:00.000-08:00

Yup, more girly pages. I loved these pictures of my NC nieces. They really LOVE the beach! Look at the smiles on their faces! I used some paper that I had from a local scrappy store with some CTMH hollyhock and buttercup cardstock.
>

Then, of course, some left overs were perfect for some cards I need for upcoming "events." These included some more thparkly paper and some stickles.

This one is for another niece who is having a birthday today...just enough scraps left:) I copic-ed this girl a few weeks ago and have had her sitting on my desk just waiting for the perfect card to go on:)

Okay, Heidi----here's your bebe

2011-03-03T10:11:00.000-08:00

I used the same Miracles paper pack to make 2 more pages...and two cards. It only came with 2 patterned pieces of paper and 2 cutouts (I added all the cardstock)...but I made 4 pages and 2 cards. This time I got to use some pics of my cutie patootie neice. I am so grateful to my sisters-in-law that provide me with girlie pictures:) I can hardly stand not getting to squeeze this little girl. I'm gunna do some beach pictures of her and her sister today...nummy. I am so grateful for mements like this. Pure bliss:)

Miracles

2011-02-28T16:25:00.000-08:00

I loved this paper packet. I love the colors, but don't like to waste blue and green on flowers. When I want to make a girly flower page, it better be pink and purple and all things girly. Then, I came across these pictures my buddy took at a scrappy convention. The decor of this hotel was so amazing. I LOVED it! It matched perfectly, so out came this packet. I still added a bit of Vineyard Berry to jazz it up. Gypsy helped out on the word 'friendship' I love that thing! If you own a Cricut, the Gypsy is sooooo worth it.

Leftovers

2011-02-14T11:37:00.000-08:00

I had some gumpaste leftover from a previous project. So, I decided to make some flowers to store away for future cakes. These dry hard and will stay FOREVER in a container on the shelf. So, I tried some carnations...LOVE THEM. super easy and I love the layers. I had to do some daisies to try out my new lil' center punch. For the leaves, I got to use a veiner:) fun fun. Guess I should get some laundry done...back to real life:)

Pink, Pink, and a lil' more Pink

2011-02-01T11:58:00.000-08:00

I have a stash of girly stuff that I rarely get to play with. I finally put my foot down. I got together some of my favorites, ordered some pics of my neices, and went to work. Mom and I made these pages of our Gracie:) Thanks, Heidi, for dressing her in pink, just for these pages:) Then, with a few left overs and my new stamps from iCopic, Verve, and Stamps of Life, I made some cards that HAVE to go to some sweeties I know:) Aaah, I guess I am ready to handle blues and greens again.

WOWZERS

2011-01-28T18:46:00.001-08:00

I do NOT have any luck with keeping indoor plants alive. I just don't have the magic touch. Now, outdoors, I have a little more finesse. So, when a sweet lady from my ward gave me this bulb...well, I was very sad that she spent any money on me. BUT, I decided to give it a try. One month later and VOILA! How amazing! This thing is 2 feet tall!! SO beautiful! Now, I have to really enjoy it because I don't know how long it will hang out at my house:) Kinda purdy, ain't it?

Cherry-O

2011-01-20T10:45:00.000-08:00

I love this paper pack from CTMH!! So cheerful on this dreary winter day! I have been wanting to use it for scrappin, but alas, with three boys...I don't have any pics that could even remotely give me the excuse to use this paper:) So, I'll just have to find reasons to send them to some lovely ladies.

of late...

2011-01-12T16:52:00.000-08:00

My goal was to finish all of my albums for 2008 by jan 1. That SO did not happen. So, here I am...a few pages closer.

This page was fun. I like to get just a touch girly once in a while. I am in this picture, so I am totally justified, right? I also got to use my Baroque alph that I have treasured forever, but rarely get to use.

Love my edge punch that looks like notebook paper!! Oh, and a lil' more copic action.

Christmas Craft

2010-12-29T17:05:00.000-08:00

I didn't get much time to do all I wanted for Christmas, BUT...I got to have my dear friend Katie come over to make these with me for our dinner tables. She brought some DELISH cookies and treats for all of us. She sure spoils us:) These lil' baskets are made with a template die from PaperTrey (of course), paper from Close to My Heart and PaperTrey, and stamps from Verve Stamps.

Heartfelt

2010-12-12T16:16:00.000-08:00

Another company that I learned about at convention was Heartfelt Creations. They have really changed in the last year. Their artwork this year was BREATHTAKING!!! We just stared and stared, trying to memorize the pages to recreate with our own pictures. This year they came out with stamps that fit with dies from Spellbinders. They aren't clear stamps, but they do cling to the clear blocks. They aren't too hard to line up. BUT, I love that I can not only cut , but emboss these stamped images, too.

New stamp Company

2010-12-12T16:09:00.000-08:00

So, I stumbled on a new stamp company at the Bellevue Convention. "Stamps of Life" owner was very nice and did a great job explaining her company and philos. Key to getting clear stamps that ink well is that they are made in the US. I went home and took a look at the companies' stamps that I like best, Papertrey, Close to my Heart, Verve...they are all made in the US. The others that disappointed me because the ink just beads up on them (ink botique, my Minds Eye, etc) were all made in China. So, now I know. Anyway, here stamps are made in the US and they are really cute. She has a fresh, non-distressed, style. I love distressing once in a while, but only when it's on my terms. I don't like EVERYTHING distressed ALL the time. So, I was hooked. I signed up to receive a set each month...(oh, and they're cheap...$10 for ea set) This kite set was SUPER FUN!!! I love how each piece fit so nicely:) CUTE CUTE CUTE. Go check them out.

More copics

2010-12-12T16:03:00.000-08:00

I am LOVIN' the copic world. I still need practice, but I am learning along the way. At the scrap convention this year, I had a goal to buy "color-in-able" stamps. I found a few that I could use more than once and have really had fun coloring. The boys wanted to try, too:) I have discovered that I prefer to color the dark shading first and then pull the lighter colors away from it. I know most people do it the other way, but this seems to blend easier for me.

Banners EVERYWHERE

2010-11-16T10:41:00.001-08:00

I had so much fun on Saturday putzin' around the CK Scrapbooking Convention in Bellevue. It was great to see all my scrappin' buddies, too:) I love just looking at all the new ideas and trends. There were banners everywhere this year. Pretty fun. I invested in a few stamp sets to help me with this trend. I plan on using my Cricut, too. There are a few cartridges that have banner pieces. Here's my first piece that I made with my spoils.

I'm off to use my new kite set now:)

Woah, that's pink!

2010-11-12T16:25:00.001-08:00

So, maybe I am just used to making boy cakes....blue blue green blue blue. However, this pink was just too much for me to handle. I went into panic mode for a few minutes. Then, I decided to add a calmer color...pale yellow. Aaaah, much better. I love making these gum paste flowers. The gum paste is kind of a pain to make, but it is so worth it:) I made extras to have in stock. It is really nice to have granite countertops to work the gum paste on, too. Whew. I have to say, the filling is a new fav spin on my old fav. I added marionberry to my white choc, cream cheese, mousse. YUMMYOYUMMY.

Let's Hear it for the BOYS

2010-11-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

Although, I would love to be making some cherry pages or girly froofy pages...I am stuck with all boy pictures. Funny thing is that I am finding myself pairing blue and orange together A LOT. It just works. My brother, Tom, gave me the idea that orange is okay. :) This is what I was playing with today.

jiggly jiggly

2010-10-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

Scott's little 7-year-old buddy found out that he had a brain tumor last week. They were able to successfully remove it, but he's home for a while to recover. We get to take them dessert today. I have been dying to get baking in my new kitchen. It was the perfect excuse to use my new tip...

I have always stayed away from cupcakes because they have no filling. This lil doodad lets me sneak in some lemon filling, mousse, custard, anything!!! Nummy-ola!

The jello jigglers were a last minute idea:) It has been FOREVER since I made them. I used my mini cookie cutters from Pampered Chef. Fun fun. Tom and his logger buddy were my taste testers. We passed:)

Michael's card...and COPICS

2010-10-05T09:53:00.001-07:00

So, I have begun my journey into the Copic world. I was not gunna do it! I was NOT even going to venture into that place, but...my CTMH marker had a crack and dried out. PLUS, when I color with reg markers, I can always see the brush strokes. SO, I stayed away from any stamp that had to be colored in. NOPE. Not gunna do it. THEN, Miss Katie Lou let me peek into Copic land. Ummmm...they're really nice...really really nice. They are alcohol ink and blend PERFECTLY. Oooh, and you can refill them and replace the lil' nibs without buying new markers...and you can even AIRBRUSH with them. Okay, so...here I am now. Budgeting to buy 6 a month.:) What's next? (By the way, I don't want an answer to that question! My craft room is gettin' kinda full)

Sharon's Celebration

2010-10-05T09:50:00.000-07:00

My sweet mother-in-law turned 70 last month!! What a blessing she is in my life! She has a lil' weakness for chocolate, so I made this card set with a lil' to keep her stock up:) I loved this template. It is, of course, a Papertrey inc template. The stamps and paper are also Papertrey.

I'm back at it!

2010-08-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

One of my first projects was to get my scrap room functional. It still isn't finished, but tables are up and all my "supplies" are out:) Yeah!! I am so happy. It is nice to get back to making pages for our books and cards for fam.\friends.

This was a fun card...one of the first ones in the new room. Oh, it was nice to have all my tools at my finger tips.

Oh, it is so fun to have ribbon and accents and stamps and...aaahh. What therapy!

Tape and glitter technique

2010-02-20T10:44:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to play with this technique for a while (since seeing it on Teresa Black's blog) I did two pages with this technique. I have decided, though, that it would look better on a smaller basis. When I cut out the big butterfly or the moon, the tape behind was all warped. If I had done smaller cut-outs, then it probably would have looked better. This first page was done with one of my favorite sets from CTMH. It was called Lazy Days of Summer. I love the cool greens and blues for my boys. I felt bad putting Dallin and glitter on the same page, but it goes in my book, not his...that's okay, right?? I needed a girl in this life, dadgumit! Anywho, the next page was inspired by a Technique Tuesdays catalog that I picked up at the scrap convention last fall. I cut the scrolly thingys out with my cricut cartridge Storybook. I like how the lil stars turned out. I just embossed them with clear embossing powder and then daubed ink over them with a sponge. Pretty fun. Now I have to go make my exchanges...with my updated info on the technique.

Wendy, this one's for you

2009-12-26T21:20:00.000-08:00

This pages cracks me up. One morning, Tom came home and told us that there was something in the front yard. So, we went out to see...A TURTLE. Uh, okay. Not something that you would expect in our area. It was pretty large and had a very sharp "beak." Our dog, Sam, got a little too close and that thing hooked his nose in a split second. Poor Sam. He was beside himself. So, we put on some welding gloves because the thing had CLAWS like an aligator...and a long tail??!! Anyway, the turtle made its way around the neighborhood for the next few weeks. When I saw these pictures, I pulled out my CTMH "Lazy Days of Summer" paper because I knew it came with turtle stickers. I even got to use some Thickers...don't you just love saying that word:) HEE HEE.

I fell in love

2009-12-26T21:15:00.001-08:00

I sure did! I went to the local scrap store (normally I can avoid it for months at a time). I was only picking up some puffy squares and I stumbled on this BEEEEAutiful paper. I LOVE this paper. Did I mention that I kinda like this paper. I was so excited to use it. But when? I have all boys. Then, it happened! I was flipping through my pile of pictures that needed scrappin' and I saw my birthday pictures from last year that Dallin took. We were having dinner in our red dining room...PERFECT!! Aaaah. I feel much better now:) Ooh, and I even sprayed the red flowers with some of my Tattered Angels glimmer mist. LOVE IT! Now I can continue on with my usual masculine pages.

First pages of '08

2009-12-26T21:03:00.000-08:00

Well, I had my first official weekend off work. I spent some time scrappin' ... for therapy, of course! These are some pages that I have been making over the last few weeks. I sure had fun making these pages. This one was made with some paper I picked up in North Carolina. I love the colors. I had the border sticker for a few years and I was happy to finally unload it onto a page. The font for the title was cut with my newest, favoritest Cricut cartridge, "Old West." It has 4 different fonts and tons of western images. It is perfect for a family full of boys.

This layout was a ton of work. I love the hand stitches, but they took me an hour!! I was using waxy flax, so I couldn't use a needle. I just had to poke the holes big enough to slide it through. Then, after all that work, I ended up covering the majority of it! Ugh. Oh, well. It was a great page because I included Scott's favorite song for the title. Once again, I used my "Old West" to cut out "bad." I also had some double sided sticky letters that I rubbed copper glitter on. I think Scott is my only child to have pages made of his yowchers. He is always getting hurt.

fun boxes Papertrey Style

2009-12-15T09:37:00.000-08:00

Papertrey Inc. is one of my most favoritest paper and stamp companies. They had been offering templates for download. I loved this one that was called "time for takeout." Once you download them, you just print the template right onto your paper. Then, you just cut and paste...voila! All cutie! Even my 4-year-old nephew made one of these for his primary teacher. easy shmeasy.

Wedding Cake

2009-11-22T08:08:00.000-08:00

What a week! I spent a good part of it making this cake. Wedding cakes take forever!! I must say that I cringe whenever someone orders a "simple" square cake. YIKES I should charge more for simple. People, we need decoration to cover the flaws:) THIS time, I discovered bench scrapers. It not only gave me a 90 degree angle to make the sides straight, but it also was a smooth enough surface to give me a pretty nice edge. UGH. I pray for a round cake next time:) Anyway, this cake was four layers. The top was chocolate cake with cherry filling. The next one down was chocolate with raspberry filling. 3rd layer was yellow cake with white chocolate, cream cheese mousse filling. Lastly, the bottom was spice cake with bavarian cream filling. YUM A NUM. It feels good to be all done. The reception was BEAUTIFUL. They used burgundy and dark chocolate colors. Cranberries were the theme all over. They made garlands, pinned them all over lil' styrofoam balls, filled vases. Very classy.

Scrapbook weekend at Mom's

2009-11-14T16:35:00.000-08:00

Oooh, I had a fun weekend scrappin' at my mom's house. I had some yummy pictures that I got in the mail this week from Zenfolio. They do some amazing work. I love the metallic finish to their photos.

Last weekend I was at a scrapbook convention in Bellevue. I found some great things...and some even better ideas. Technique Tuesdays was a favorite booth of mine. I love all their layouts. This one was right out of their idea book. Funny thing...I was at Costco and saw this cute outfit that instantly made me think of my new neice. Then, I saw these family photos they had done - and there it was! The cutie outfit. Gotta love it!

This next layout was SUPER fun. I have been collecting western style paper, embellishments, stamps, etc for a long time. My boys love cowboy stuff. So, when I saw my brother's family pictures were taken with horses in the background...I knew I was set. I think the twine is my favorite part...or the sticker that says "Sassy Cowgirl!"

And last of all, this is my tool time page. My brother took the boys to a woodworking store and taught them how to make pens with a lathe. They really enjoyed working with their uncle and Papa. Dallin also made a beautiful picture frame and stand for me. Now, I just need a house to put it in:)

New Close To My Heart Christmas Paper

2009-10-20T19:34:00.000-07:00

I wasn't too sure about this paper when I first saw it on the cover of our new catalog, but I love it now. It is so much better in person and I even made it work with boys:) It is called Jingle. I had fun with my "Evergreen" stamp, too. I have had it for a year and I am finally putting it to use...a few buttons, some glitter...and I'm down to 2 more layouts left in 07:) WOOHOO. I had a gathering this weekend and used this as inspiration for the card I taught. I'll have to post that later. The ladies had fun making it, but we ended up with glitter EVERYWHERE!:)

My Star of the Show

2009-10-20T19:32:00.000-07:00

I loved making this page. I found this fun paper in NC when I was visiting. Archivers is WAY too much fun. I get really excited when I find paper that will work for boys. This was Dal's first recital in 07....yes, I am almost done with 07. Just a few more layouts.

Baby pages

2009-09-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

Oh, I love getting the chance to make girl pages. Don't get me wrong...I love my boys and wouldn't trade them for anything. HOWEVER, as a scrapper, it is nice to be able to make froofy (sp?) pages once in a while!! So, I thank my brothers and in-laws that have girls so I can have the opportunity to add a lil' bling and shhhhwankiness to my books:) I was able to visit an Archivers store while I was visiting NC. These were some of the goodies I found.

vinyl lettering

2009-09-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

My friend, Patti, taught me how to do vinyl lettering with my cricut. So, I played a little with it on our trip to NC. M.'s room is so girly and fun. I let her pick the design and words. It was a little tricky getting the transfer tape to cooperate, but it went pretty smoothly. I love how well it went on to the wall. I cut some extra flowers and dots and she got to put those on too. The best part is...it is removeable.:) If you're sick of it after a few months, then you can easily pull it off and do something else.

Birthday Surprise

2009-08-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine had a birthday this week, so I thought I should get something made for her. It has been a while since I have been able to just create all day. I even got back into pj's half way through the day:) WOOO HOOO! This was a template that I got off of Papertrey Inc. I love the templates they offer...so easy to follow and very affordable.

10th Anniversary

2009-08-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am 2 years behind on my scrappin'. This school thing doesn't exactly allow for much "me" time. I have had this paper for quite a while and I was excited to finally get to use it! It is all glittery and I have VERY few occasions that will permit the use of glitter in my house:) Pretty simple layout...what a fun night that was. We went to El Gauchos and had a delicious dinner. He pretended to look at another woman walking into the restaurant. I spun around to see who it could be...only to turn back around and see a ring on my plate. I guess he gets points for the ring...definitely NOT for the method of surprise!!

CHERRIES! FINALLY!

2009-08-05T21:28:00.000-07:00

I am really on a cherry kick lately. I am searching for cherries in paper, stencils, stamps, etc. Then, when we were at our last CTMH meeting, Patti pulled out some cherries that she cut with her Cricut! YEAH!! I was a tad bit excited. Then she showed us how to cut vinyl with the Cricut. SO, I cut some of these cherries out and made my exchange for next month:) LOVE the cherries!! I also used my Wizard and Swiss Dot folder to make some polka dots. What could be better than cherries AND polka dots?! MMMMM. I am a happy scrapper now!

Inspiration cards

2009-07-29T21:55:00.000-07:00

Our little Close to my Heart group had a challenge to find inspiration this month. We could use pictures, clothing, anything that inspired us. I chose a shirt of my mom's. I love the white with red flowers on it...so here is the card I made to mimic the shirt:) Pretty fun! One of the girls made a page after looking at Rainier cherries and the other made a page based on a cute apron she had.

Peterson Wedding

2009-06-07T17:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is by far the most unique wedding cake I have done. It turned out to be really fun to make. I loved how they decorated for this wedding I did in April. The favors were those big swirly lollipops in vases. So colorful and fun!! The base of that cake was 20" across!!! Not so fun to roll out fondant that big. That was just one part. Then, we had to transfer it to the cake...and it was square to boot! It was fun and cheerful, though...did I mention fun?:)

Cutie cupcakes

2009-03-27T14:01:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine was celebrating her granddaughter's first birthday. She wanted daisies, so this was a fun project. I made the daisies out of gumpaste...the first time I have ever used store bought gumpaste. I was not impressed. It never dried hard. I was glad they stayed firm enough to rise off the cupcake, though. I also injected these with some boysenberry jam...nummy.

Dinosaur ROAR!

2009-02-08T09:15:00.000-08:00

Man, do little boys love dinosaurs! I kind of missed out on that having grown up as a little girl:) Michael's kindergarten teacher put on a dinosaur production for the parents and grandparents to come and watch. It was so cute. Of course, Michael was in heaven because it involved making masks. He came home and made his own the next day...this set even had claws. He is so creative. He does these thing all on his own. For this page I used Close to my Heart's Rough and Tumble paper pack. I also got to use their sheer Clover Meadow for the first time ever...thanks Mrs. Wilson for making their masks that color of green!..all in the name of scrappin'!!

Swimmin' Scooter

2009-02-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

I have had this picture for a year! I can't believe it has taken me this long to scrap it. Ah, well. I am just grateful that I get Sundays off from my "other" life:) This is my Scooter. He is so animated and I find myself taking a ton of pictures of him. I have to even things out with the other two. I used some really great stuff for the chipboard letters called liquid glass from CTMH. I love this stuff. I also added some of those dew drops around the polka dots. This paper is all from CTMH Good Times set. The brads...love those...were from K & Co. (I THINK) They are so chunky and fun. I wish I had shoes with that pattern on them.

Emporium Gift Set

2009-02-02T13:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, this Emporium Paper from Close To My Heart is so fun to work with. This is the new Spring Creative Basics. These were a gift for my hostess of my last gathering. Very easy...the colors were so cheery! I just covered a box that I found at Walmart after Christmas. They had sets of gift boxes for 75%off. Can't beat that! So they were a quarter a pair. LOVE IT!

Birthday Card

2009-01-18T10:40:00.000-08:00

Today is my brother-in-law's birthday. So I whipped this card out this morning. I used the CTMH Serendipity paper pack from last year. I hope he doesn't mind the flowers on the front!! HA HA I never understand why they waste a perfectly good masculine color scheme on flowers...leave those for the pansy colors!!:) It was a quick card and fun to make, though.

Fathers Day Pages

2009-01-18T10:28:00.000-08:00

I am now full swing into my school year. I am doing pretty well at balancing family\home\church life with school. I have NOT, however, learned how to make time for my craft time. I have missed it so much. Oh, well. I always have the weekends:) I spent a fun day last Saturday making these pages. I was really scared of using CTMH's new Emporium bulk paper. Now, after using it and seeing it up close, I LOVE IT! This is the paper pack that is highlighted on the front of our new Idea Book. I love the blues and greens, I was just scared of the chocolate piece.I chose to use the kiss method with my alphabet solos stamp set. This is when you ink up your solid stamp, then press it onto another detail stamp to create a texture on your solid stamp. In this case, I inked up the "D" and pressed it onto a swirly stamp from the "Western Flourishes" stamp set. I twisted the "d" while pressing it, but other times I have just pressed without the twist. It turns out to have a little more white showing when I twist. I think I like it better with just pressing...no twisting:)

I also added some little charms that were available with our Connection Club last year. I love these little guys. They are sooo cute!

Here is the second page that went with it. I love making these pages. I love the memories they bring back!

Simple Christmas Card

2008-12-20T13:59:00.000-08:00

Time has become something of a rarity since I started school two weeks ago. I can't believe how demanding thing are now that I am trying to balance everything out. So, needless to say, the crafting has come to an abrupt halt. I am relishing the free time I have now that we are snowed in. I cleaned house like a mad woman and now...now I can create. This is a card that I made for some of my mailings this year. Yes, it is VERY simple, but I really liked the tad bit of sparkle:)

Ahhh, and here is a page that I made for Michael's scrapbook. It was so great to play with stamps and ink and my cricut and punches and daubing and...yeah. It was so nice to play for a few minutes. I used Paper Trey Inc. cardstock for this and CTMH stamps ("C" solo, express postage, Frame of Mind, and Star Struck.) Now, I am good for another week...maybe:)

Baby Box

2008-11-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

Oh, I love any excuse to make these boxes. This one is for a gal at church that is due in 9 days...I knit some booties and a lil' hat for the new guy. So, this will go perfectly. These are CTMH boxes, Aspen paper pack, CTMH chipboard letters, and Heritage alphabet stamp. The colors are Twilight, Outdoor Denim, and Desert Sand. OH! So cute!

Gift Certificate Holder

2008-11-21T08:19:00.001-08:00

This is a card I came up with for an open house gathering I have next weekend. I needed to present the gift certificates available in a really pretty way. So, I used CTMH's Creative Basics Evensong Paper, Colonial White cardstock, a little glitter, and some brads. I love how fast they were to make!! I just have to make 10 more now. Whew!

Bonfire

2008-11-21T08:14:00.000-08:00

We had an impromptu bonfire one night while Tom was burning some brush. It was so fun and the boys were in heaven. They found a frog, had some toasted marshmallows, and got REALLY dirty:) These memories are priceless...the unplanned ones. I love where we live. I love that we can do this whenever we want.

Scooter

2008-11-21T08:10:00.000-08:00

Scott is such a daddy's boy. He loves learning how to work things. From a very young age he would watch Tom or his Papa work with wood or tractors, etc. This was him learning to ride a bike. Now, with Dallin we just had to work on getting him to go FORWARD on his trike. He could do backwards really well. Then came Michael. We had to tie his feet to the pedals:) Scott, well, he just hopped on, stuck his tongue out, and took off.

Sketch challenge...two versions

2008-10-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

I have never participated in a sketch challenge before...so here goes. This is from one of my favorite blogs, inkastamp. I had to do two cards today, so I used this sketch to do both. They both use Papertrey Inc and CTMH stamps and cardstock. The patterned paper is just stuff I have had in my stash forever. This one was for my brother, Ben. He is all the way in Texas, so it is a sad reminder of how far away they are whenever I have to send a card. My boys liked this one...much better than the next one. This one was for a gal that I visit teach each month. She is such a girly girl, so it was nice to get to play with girly purple and pink for once. I have to say that the twill ribbon used here, by Papertrey, is the most luxurious stuff!! It is almost glossy...pretty cool for twill.

Game Boys

2008-10-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I got to have a scrap retreat with some of my partners in crime. I stayed only Friday and part of Saturday, but I got some fun pages done. This one is one of my favorites because it shows our everyday life, not some big event. The boys were playing dominoes one day. They were getting along so well. I used CTMH's Seredipity Paper pack for this, along with Little Boys stamp set, Childhood Boy stamp set, Outdoor Denim striped ribbon, pewter accents, and little brads for the domino dots:) I think those are so fun!!

Oooh, I LOVE this paper!

2008-10-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

I found this paper on a wild scrapbooking shopping trip that I took with Ms. Katie Lou. I had a friend who lost her mother-in-law last week, so this was what I came up with to send her. I love the black backdrop. It just makes it look so ...can't think of a word...not classy, but maybe classic. I don't know. Anyway, I used CTMH stamps with it and Coluzzle's template for the file folder.

New Family Blog

2008-10-28T09:26:00.000-07:00

I have created a new family blog. I needed a place to have my scrapbook and card creations, so that is what this site will remain. The new site for my personal stuffs is http://briggsfamilydays.blogspot.com/

Aaaahh! Christmas pages!

2008-10-26T19:06:00.001-07:00

I LOVE doing Christmas pages before the season gets here because it gets me all excited. These are actually from last Christmas...yes, I am getting "caught up" in my scrappin'. I did these pages with all CTMH. I used the new Evensong Creative Basics paper, cranberry and New England Ivy CS, Fair Blossoms stamp set, the Baroque stamp set, and few odds and ends.

Cute Lil Boxes

2008-10-14T13:04:00.001-07:00

I made these for my business handouts, but these would also be super for anything little...like the truffles I am planning on making for Christmas this year:) NUMMY! These were very quick to make and required a very small amount of supplies. They only measure 2"x2"x2".

A (deep voice) MANLY page

2008-10-14T12:59:00.001-07:00

Is there such thing as a manly scrap page?? Well, I do attempt to do these a few times a year so Tom will feel part of the album:) I usually don't like to visit his job sites because this is what goes on...too stressful for me. BUT, he loves his job and that makes me happy, too. I guess it's all the chainsaws, trucks, cranes, etc etc. I used my CTMH homestead alphabet and the Ponderosa Pine with Brown bag colors also from CTMH. I need to make something pink now.

troubles

2008-10-10T13:24:00.000-07:00

I can't figure out what is going wrong with my uploads!! I can post words, but no pictures! Ugh! I am not computer saavy, so what do I do?? Any suggestions?

A Gift for You

2008-09-18T21:39:00.002-07:00

Oh, this card is so fun! Yup, that is CTMH's new Sorbet again. I also used Playful flourishes stamp set and the birhtday bash set for the present. I used a lil prisma glitter over the liquid glass to make it a lil special:)

Tea Tin for nummy cookies

2008-09-18T21:39:00.001-07:00

My dear cutie friend, Katie likes to challenge me with things to make and this was one of my favorite challenges:) This is perfect for some lil ginger snaps...that sounds sooo good. I used the Sorbet cardstock from CTMH, Cocoa and Colonial White as well. I can't wait to make some cookies to go with this. The best part of this is that lil buckle on the ribbon:)

New Sorbet!!...okay, I DO love it:0

2008-09-18T21:39:00.000-07:00

Alrighty, then! I really do like the new Sorbet color introduced by Close To My Heart. It is so versatile. I am using it as a fall color for my next gathering. I made this layout to show what ya could do with the color and some fall pictures. I used Cocoa to go with it. I used CTMH's Nature's Veins and Thing of Beauty stamp sets. This was a fun weekend with my brother and his family when they lived up in Bellingham, WA area. I even got to have TRICKY STIX!! My personal fave!

Paper Backpacks

2008-09-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

Well, my youngest started school yesterday. I was pretty sad to see my lil' buddy get on the bus and leave me...all alone:( So, in honor of school starting, I made this cutie patootie backpack from a template I found on Splitcoast Stampers. I had to make it boyish, but it turned out cute anyway. I think I'll stash these away for a test day or something like that. Green is in honor of Dallin...my green boy. I used Olive B&T paper from CTMH, New England Ivy CS from CTMH, ribbon and silver eyelets...oh, and the chocolate Brad, too.

Masculine Birthday Card

2008-09-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

I really struggle with masculine cards because I always want to use flowers and froofy stuff on my cards. This one turned out pretty darn cute, though. I just love these balloons from CTMH's Birthday Bash stamp set. I used their Good Times paper...just a tiny bit because it is really busy paper. Hope my brother likes it:)

Pink!

2008-09-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

I love the new pink colors from Papertrey Inc. Their cardstock is the best! It is so thick and nice to work with. All of this card is made with PTI, Berry Sorbet and Sweet Blush. I added a few brads for the bling and that was all. I love the clean look to PTI's papers and designs. Very refreshing in a distressing kind of world:)

Mini Golfing and a cool Palm tree

2008-08-27T16:38:00.001-07:00

What a fun layout! I get so much more done when I use CTMH's layout books. This one was from Imagine. I spent two days adding lil' things here and there to this one. I used the "Good Times" paper pack with Sweet Leaf, Twilight, and Chocolate cardstock. This mini golf place was inside a building...in the basement. It was soooo cool, but really dark so the pictures were dark. In one of them, there is a palm tree. I added that guy at the end and it was kinda fun:) I also got brave a whipped out my chipboard alphabets and put together that GOLF using sweet leaf ink and Spot On Backgrounds on top. Whew. I got through that okay. I like how we are offering each letter group separately because I can just order the ones I use more of without having to order the whole alphabet again. Fun fun

Dallin 2nd Grade

2008-08-27T16:31:00.001-07:00

Dallin is my oldest. He takes great pictures for the school people. He is always making the funniest faces in all my photos, though. So, this was fun to do because he is smiling normally:) I used the Route 66 paper pack from CTMH for this (Cranberry, Moonstruck, Bamboo) I also used their stamp sets"Legendary Moments", Solo "2", and the new Chocolate Alphabet. I embossed with our white powder. It ended up kinda plain in the upper right hand corner, but I'm okay with that:) Repeat after me, Karen, "empty space is not a bad thing"...:)LOL