it feels weird...

We went and dropped off the "bigs" at Bible camp today. We took a bus and 3 trains to get them there, but they were SOOO excited. Leah was old enough to go last year too, but this was Rhys' first year. You'd think they might be a little more nervous or sad when I left, but no, not at all :) I know they'll have tons of fun, but it sure feels weird here at home without them here. Even Miss Emma noticed and right around bed time she started asking "Where's Blah?" To be honest, Levi can sometimes be a little...selfish. But I was really happy with his attitude about them going to camp even though he can't. No whining or complaining, just behaving really well. Making sure I taped Leah and Rhys' favorite shows while they are gone :) I also made sure to let him know that HE was the BIG kid around the house now. He's happy about that and takes his job of  "helping with Emma" very seriously :

A little bit different color combo for today's card. I don't always like the summer sunrise color, it's a little bright or something. But I love the way it looks with the Wild Honey distress ink stamped on it!! Such a perfect match :) I don't have the matching dies for the Turning a New Leaf stamps, so I just cut them out. I'm still thinking of getting them though :) I used the negative from where I diecut a scallop circle and then stitched it down. I kinds of tucked the vine in and put some adhesive on a few spots. The sentiment is from Mega Mixed messages. I also added a few gems to the leaves.

Well, thanks for popping in today!! Hope your week is off to a good start :) I know mine will be different than normal :)

more flowers...

We took a little bus trip into the "city" today. I sue that term loosely lol. But it was really fun. I got all the kids some new Crocs. And we ate lunch at Burger King. I think it was the first time for any of them to eat at Burger King.They loved it :) They went on and on about it. heehee :) Since I hadn't eaten there in years either, I must say I enjoyed it too. Also glad we got the bus route down since we'll be taking it again next week when I drop the oldest 2 off at camp. Love getting out with the kids too. And since the reason we decided to go out in the first place was to go to the post office to mail my card in for publication, it was already a good day to begin with :)

I know, I've really been overdoing the flowers lately. I'm pretty sure this is the last one for awhile though--think I'm a little tired of them myself lol :) But I do like how this one turned out.

 I used lots of my new fun stuff on this card. It took me a long time to finally get some PTI impression plates. I thought they were a little pricey and didn't know if I would like them since they were more subtle than regular embossing folders. But I finally caved since I just loved some of the patterns. And boy am I glad I did!! I just *love* them. So easy to use, definitely not too subtle, just right actually. This music one is the one that finally made me give in :) The tiny tag stamp and die is new to me too.  Really cute :) I am one of those people that can't get enough polka dots :) And isn't the doily die really adorable? Another item that I finally caved and got. I'm thinking I should stop resisting and go with it lol.
Thanks so much for stopping by!! I hope you had a great week. I'm ready for the weekend :)

no more stitches.

Miss Emma got her stitches out today. I knew we were going to have to walk to the doctor this morning to get them out, so I was a little worried when it started to POUR last night. Cats and dogs. But, luckily this morning it was totally cleared up. No clouds at all. After hearing her *scream* when they were stitching her up, I was pretty sure she wouldn't be too thrilled when they wanted her to lie down so they could snip them out. And in case I haven't mentioned it before...she is a tad strong-willed. just a tad :) (seriously, she is my 4th, so it's not like I don't have any experience with 2 year olds, but she is nothing like the others) She did cling to me for all she was worth, but surprisingly, after her initial crying, she stayed pretty still and calm while they took them out. As soon as they were done, she was ready.to.go. Glad it's done though, and the doctor said it healed up really well :) So glad the doctor is so close too. Made the whole ordeal a lot easier.

Anyway, here's today's card.

This one came together really quickly. I had made each of the elements before, they just happened to work really well together. I really love the Embellishments images and the pretty fonts. And having the dies to match is so fun. Pretty sure I wouldn't try cutting it out otherwise lol. The pattern papers are from Fancy Pants. I also used my new Hero Arts Solid Dots background for some subtle depth. And I'm definitely making a dent in my stash of too many flowers :)

Thanks for stopping by! Hope your week started off well.  Hoping for lots of crafty time this week. (As I do each week lol )

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 :)

a baby....

card :) heehee! just a card. I don't really make baby cards that often. Probably because I don't usually have a lot people to give them to. But they are so fun to make when I do :) I just found out that my best friend from Junior High is due in July, so that added to the baby fun, I'm sure. She's having a boy, though, so this one is not for her.

I started thinking that this fun plaid stamp from Unity would look great for a baby card. I really love how the white ink looks on the kraft. Definitely will be doing that again.After that I just got my super cute baby button bits stamps from Papertrey and decided on this oh-so-cute cupcake :) I love how it looks paper pieced :) My favorite thing to do when I am paper piecing is to look through my scraps and find  fun patterns to use, and that is what I did this time too. I usually find some of my best things that way :) I made the pink border around the edge a little bigger than I normally do because I wanted it to stand out more and have plenty of room to stitch.

That's all for the card today. But here is a picture of my sweet Miss Emma.

If you look closely, you can see the bandaid under her bangs. Just before we were heading out to church on Sunday, she fell and busted her head open. It made a huge gash and we had to go to the ER :( She ended up with about 5 stitches :( I'm so thankful that she is doing fine now. You wouldn't know it, she acts her same old  feisty self. Definitely not something I ever want to go through again. The surgeon was great, I can't imagine how hard it would be to stitch up a two year old. ( I can barely keep her still long enough to brush her teeth...)
Again, I just thank God for His care and protection.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a blessed and uneventful day :)

makeover.

So remember the not-so-great "shabby" card I tried to make awhile ago? Well, it just kept bothering me, so I took it apart. Then I left it on my desk for a couple of weeks, trying to add something to the base that I liked.
And I finally I did :) Here's what the new, improved one looks like:

Ok, now, really, isn't that a lot better?! I actually really like this version. I added some prima flowers, a sentiment from PTI's Flutterby Friend. And the finishing touch is a clear butterfly, spritzed with a little Glitter mist and thne dipped in white Stazon ink. This is what I usually do when I end up making a card that I don't really like. Sometimes it takes a while, but I like coming up with something that I really do like :)

Ok, short and sweet again today. I'm hoping to get a few things done this morning before all the kids are up.
Thanks for stopping by!! I hope you had a great weekend!!

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 :)