aah!

Can you believe that it is almost March?? I cannot believe how fast February flew by. I am looking forward to spring though, so I don't mind too much.

I thought I would share a layout today :) This a favorite of mine. It is one that I had published in Creating Keepsakes magazine.

I just loved how it turned out. I happened to find these perfect pattern papers that matched :)

These pictures are pretty old now--Levi will be 7 soon! He's not even 2 in these pictures. *sniff* I wishe they would stop growing:(....anyway....I used several Quickutz dies here. And there are a couple Papertrey Ink stamps too.


Thanks for stopping by today! I hope your week is going  well. We've been enjoying some really nice weather here this week.yay :)

It's party time.

 well, not really. But how about a party layout.

This layout is of Leah. My goodness, they all look SO little!! It's hard to believe how much they have changed in 3 years(!) *sniff,sniff* Lots of Fancy Pants stuff on this layout. And some stamps,  I love using stamps on my layouts when I can.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!! I'm really looking forward to taking it easy today :) stamping, scrapping and maybe some online shopping. fun :)

a layout for today.

I was going to post a card over the past couple of days, but I had an issue with my computer recognizing my pictures or something *~* Anyway, I opted to post a layout that was already on my  laptop from before.

Just some cute pictures I had of Miss  Emma from early before she was even one. Goodness, I can't believe she is already 3!!!

Are you ready for the weekend? I sure am :) If all goes well, we'll make it to a new church in this area, buy a little heater for my new crafting room, and get our Christmas decorations up.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

I don't really do

spooky Halloween cards or anything. We don't actually even celebrate Halloween at our house. Although we do have a fun "fall party" as our version where we dress up in costumes :) But, I made this card for a magazine call once, but it didn't get picked up.

I thought it turned out pretty cute though :) Surprisingly, no stamping all on this card. Die cuts for the letters, and I just free hand cut the ghost.

And that's it for me. I finally did have a little time to stamp today, though :) yay! But nothing is quite finished yet. Thanks SO much for stopping by!!

fun :)

I've been making a lot more cards than layouts lately. But yesterday I made a layout, and it was so much fun! Really want to do some more. Sorry I don't have the picture of that one on my computer yet, but I do have one that I made before it.

Pretty simple, but I was really pleased with how it turned out. I stitched all the lines between the pictures. And I even used some stamps on it too :) These pictures of when my Cutie learned how to ride his bike without training wheels. (He's so big now *sniff*).

Thanks SO much for stopping by today!!! I hope you have an awesome day!

Layout time :)

It seemed about time I shared a layout :) I am a *very* slow scrappy in general. It can take me forever to finish a layout. But, I am proud to say, I finished this whole layout in one day. One afternoon, actually. And it's even a 2 pager!

I was really pleased with how it turned out. I used a 6x6 pad from SEI. Lots of pretty patterns.

I even stitched around   the sections of pattern paper-some straight, some zigzag.  I used several stamps and die cuts too.

And some journalling too. I stamped the butterfly from Clear Dollar stamps on pattern. The cardstock stickers are from Crate Paper.

And that's about it :) Thanks for stopping by today!! I hope you are having a wonderful week!!

so tiny...

I made a layout of the first pictures I got of Miss Emma--ever. The nurses took the pictures for me while I was wheeled away after the c-section. It is so hard to believe that she was ever that small!!

I kept it pretty simple with just the 2 photos they took for me. She was so tiny (4lbs14oz) they thought she wouldn't get to come home with me, but she did :) And she's been thriving ever since. You certainly wouldn't know it now-heehee.

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope your week is going great!!

still time...

for another Christmas card before Christmas, right?  Thought I'd pop in really quick and share one :)

Another one that has almost no stamping, oddly enough. I sketched the tree with a pencil, poked holes and then stitched over it by hand. I kind of like how it turned out :)

Thanks for stopping in today! Hope you are enjoying the Christmas- season ( I know we are!)

Christmas cards

I actually made several Christmas cards this year, but I actually used them before I got to take a pictures of th em. I think that is a first for me! oh well, that is the *real* reason we make the cards, right?! heehee. I do have one from earlier this year that I am pretty sure I haven't shared yet though. I can't go without showing any Christmas cards, right?

Not lots of stamping on this card, is there? I had fun though, and I really like how it turned out :) I tried out a little bit different stitch on the sides. I used a nice, big sparkly brad for his nose :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! As my kids keep reminding, me only 4 more days 'till Christmas Eve now!!

yay for school :)

I don't think I ever thought I would actually say that. Or even my kids. But there was absolutely NO complaining about doing school today. There were lots of smiles and listening on each other's lessons, and some very great memory verse recitation. Today was the 2nd of our new school. I was little nervous about starting it, and I'm definitely still working out timing etc. But I must say, I am loving it :) yay! I really thank God for leading me to it at just the right time. And in case you are interested, after all my raving :), you can check it out at Heart of Dakota.

I thought I would share a layout today. I made it a little bit ago. With thinking about and working on our new school stuff, I still haven't been creating as much as I normally do. I really love how this layout turned out :) The picture are old though, maybe about 4 years old. I took these from inside while Tomio was saying 'bye to each of the kids. He did this every morning on his way out  to work :) So glad I captured it :)

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are having a lovely week :)

okay...

I think it's time for a layout. I've actually made a few layouts lately. I even *seem* to have gotten a little bit faster at it too. Which can be good considering I usually have the same layout sitting on my desk for a week. I haven't finished all of Levi's other birthday pages yet, but since I am no longer stuck under the " I must scrap chronologically" way of thinking (which is definitely the best choice I ever made. I enjoy my scrapping *so* much more now), I didn't let that stop me from scrapping the cutie-pix :)

Last year Levi chose Batman, and this year it was Superman. It's funny. Every year, I know Tomio is going to do an incredible job drawing the pictures on their cakes with chocolate. And yet, every year, he still manages to exceed my expectations. It think it is so fun for the kids that they can ask for any picture they want, and they know Daddy will draw it.( if only I had that talent). I am really sticking with the less is more look for my layouts (well, and cards too) lately. I still experiment with other looks too, but I always seem to come back to more clean and simple.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you are having some nice fall weather. It looks like it is finally getting cooler now here. yay :)

surprise!

Tomio surprised us by taking the day off from work :) We spent the day eating breakfast out, playing at the park (where Levi got to show off his bike riding skills) and watching dvds. It was definitely a good day :) We also got Emma some new shoes since she seems to have lost one on the bus the other day....

I used some more of my new PTI goodies on this card :) I had been wanting another flower stamp set with matching dies for a while, so when I they came out with this one of sunflowers (my all time favorite flower ♡) I *had* to get it. And I'm so glad I did :) The bookprint impression  plate is also new to me, and I love it too! I selectively inked some stamps from some other sets for the sentiment.

Thanks so much stopping by!! I hope you have a great weekend!

sickies...

Rhys had a fever on Monday, and while he is all better now, Miss Emma now has one :( Rhys is actually really good when he is sick, not whiney or anything. Miss Emma... well, not so much. But considering her normal personality :), not too bad I guess.Really praying she's better in the morning. She still is her talkative self though. We were sitting together on the couch while she watched some dvr-ed shows. The care bears she watched finished, and the normal tv show came on. It was some Japanese cartoon that my kids don't watch. Normally when  a show that is "unacceptable" comes on, my kids will say "oh, that's poop", kind of reinforces that it's not worth watching. Anyway, this time it was kind of like a witch that popped on the screen. Miss Emma looked at it and said " Oh! scary! Scary poop!" :) heehee:)

anyway...how about a layout today? This is me and Tomio back when we were dating :) let's see...I must have been16, which makes him 21. Sometimes it's fun to go back and do some older pictures too :) Pretty simple, but I thought it went well with the black and white photos.

Thanks so much stopping by today! Taking care of sickies can be pretty tiring, so I'm going to *try* to get some more sleep tonight. Hey, at least everyone slept 'till 6 today :) Hope you have a great day!!

back to normal

So everyone got back from camp ok.  They had probably a little too much fun :) I'm really glad that there is a Christian, English camp for them to go to. For the past few days I keep hearing more and more about the different fun things they did. They were thrilled that they got to go swimming everyday :)

After all this "summer" talk, I have a winter layout I did heehee :) I used some adorable paper from Cosmo Cricket that I have been hoarding lol. Used some stamps, added some stitching. I really love these colors :) I love this little snowman stamp!! So cute. I like to emboss with the Ultra thick embossing enamel (UTEE) like i did here and then stamp his eyes etc in Stazon.

Alright, things are going back to normal today--back to studying and schedules again. Hoping it allows for a little down time for though :) Hope you had a great Father's day weekend!! We spent the day at my parent's house. Thanks for stopping by!!

really?!

Can you believe it is already June?! I just can't--the year is half over! aaahh! I'll be happy if the first few days of June are anything like what the rest will be, though. They said it was the coolest day in June they had in 22 years here. I would love a cooler summer :)

Have a layout to share today. Some of my favorite pictures of Miss Emma from the park near our house.

I'd been doing a lot of two page layouts with lots of pictures, so I thought it would be fun to try doing some really different ones. I like printing the pictures with a white border to help them pop. The pretty striped paper is from Fancy Pants. I went for years without even owning any flowers, and then after I got some, I went for months without even tryin to use them. But lately I've been really liking them and putting them on layouts and cards. I think I might have gotten a little carried away though heehee :) There's a little stitching, a little stamping and a little embossing too.

Thanks for stopping by! Are you reayd for the weekend?  I sure am :)

girly fun and more butterflies :)

Leah is off spending the night at her cousins' house tonight. With Emma so much younger than her, and two brothers, it's a fun treat  for her to stay at a house with SIX little girls. Apparently they are having a night full of  dress up and tea parties :) Lots of fun for her, but I think her daddy's pretty sad that his girl isn't going to be here when he gets home from work--heehee :)

I have another butterfly card for today. But this time it is a different butterfly :)

I really like how the kraft looks with the yellow. I stamped the butterfly with a music pattern in Antique linen distress ink. The butterfly is from Lifestyle crafts. Isn't it pretty? I used my favorite Sizzix embossing plate too. The perfect little sentiment is from Waltzingmouse stamps. I love that font :) And I'm so glad  I finally seem to have gotten my sewing machine to work. I would be so sad if I couldn't  add stitching to my cards!!

Well, I'm off to watch a movie with the boys while Leah's gone :)  Thanks for stopping by!! It's just about the weekend~yay :)

a little reprieve...

from the heat :) It had gotten so hot here lately, I was kind of getting concerned about the summer...But luckily the past few days it has really cooled off. It's actually been quite chilly. Fun :) A little too rainy today though... I wouldn't mind at all if I didn't have to go out in it get groceries. I'm thinking it might make for a good baking day though.

Ok I just realized that today's card uses the same butterfly set as the last card. I think I need to start trying to use something else besides butterflies(!) or maybe just get some more butterfly stamps? Yes, definitely think I should just get some more butterflies.

I usually think this pink polka dot paper is too bright, but I like it combined with kraft for a fun girl-y card. Not sure how well you can see it in the photo, but I stamped a music pattern on the label in antique linen distress ink. Added some stitching and a little gem to finish it off.

Alright, a short and sweet today. Lots of school to get done with the kids before we head out. Hope you have a good day!! Thanks for stopping by :)

a little tired and a layout.

Well a new week started again. I have been so tired lately. I guess I shouldn't complain, since I get to stay home with the kids and Tomio is the one who has to go out. See he's been so busy at work that he has to leave by 6 most days. Which means that I get up and get him breakfast etc. before he heads out. That itself is tiring enough, but Miss Emma seems to have decided now would be a good time to start waking up in the middle of the night and scream, and scream...and scream. I've tried everything I can think of but it hasn't helped.

So I'm tired. Maybe some extra coke will help :) And at least the coke-shortage that seems to have been going on at the stores near me has ended and I was able to find plenty for the week. yay :)

I thought I would share another layout today(!) I actually really like how this one turned out. It is from the same sketch as the one I shared a little bit ago. But I like how it has a totally different look.

I love the "wonky" scallops at the bottom. I didn't really have any, so diecut several circles and cut them in half and tucked them in. I also like the little felt car. I like adding stitching and buttons to felt shapes :)

Well, that's all for me today. I'm really hoping to get a nap after school today... :) Thanks for stopping by! I hope you had a great weekend!!

Sorry for the long silence again. My week didn't go at all like I had planned. I had hoped to do all this great planning and cardmaking while Leah and Rhys were gone doing sports all week....but none of that happened at all. I DID take Emma and  Levi to the doctor for their bad coughs. And I did manage to catch Emma's before it got really bad this time.
But I still have big plans for this week. I'm sure that some rescheduling and some attitude adjustments(which come from the Lord) I can get things done and enjoy them too.

Since I didn't create anything that I had planned this week, I don't have a card to share. But I do have a layout(!!!) I know, can you believe it? It's actually one that I made for Creating Keepsakes, but they didn't want it. But I still love how it turned out.

Some fun pictures of all my kiddos enjoying some cupcakes :) I used lots of stamps on this layout, which is one of my favorite things to do. When I first started stamping, I really didn't combine the two, but now I love it. 

I used lots of Papertrey dies too. I *LOVE* these notebook page and ticket dies. Both are ones that I wasn't sure I would get much use out of but got just because I liked them. And doesn't the cupcake look so cute out of felt?! So fun :)

That's it for me today. I hope your week went smoothly. Or at least you made the best of whatever came your way lol :) Thanks for popping in!!

not yet...

I know I said last week and maybe even the week before, that I was out and about way too much. Goodness, I was hoping that things would calm down and be back to normal already, but it sure doesn't seem like it yet. We left really early this morning to head out for a ladies' card class we were having. It didn't start till 10, but we had to allow plenty of time to get stuck in traffic and still get things set out. All went well, the ladies loved it, and my kids had almost too much fun hanging out with Papa and their cousins again. Miss Emma seemed to miss Mama a little bit more since she has cold, but she's definitely getting even more fond of her Papa :) Anyway, at least tomorrow we should be able to stay home and be calm...and hopefully it will last through the next few weeks.
I have a couple more tags I made that I haven't added to their respective presents yet :)

Nothing super fancy again. I really tend to use my scraps for my tags. I kind of think of it as a challenge to see what I can do with them. So that is what I used here, combined with some stamps and some dies. I usually like to add string or twine to my tags when they have this traditional "tag" shape, even if I don't actually use the string to attach it.

Ok, I'm really going to try to have a relaxing evening of stamping or crafty-blog surfing :) Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you're have a restful week :)