The Long Weekend

...was long!

LOL...the weather was fabulous, but I spent most of it inside painting the living room!  Paint is an amazing transformer.  It can brighten and pull together quicker than anything!  We still have several spaces in the house to finish, and even the ones that are finished...still need some gaps filled it! 

We were able to sleep in this weekend and just leave the work week behind!

But, alas...it is here again already.  Only a few more weeks before summer break.  Nathan will miss school, especially his teacher.  He has transformed this year.  The reading and writing just blow me away.  He is truly interested in both and would consider them to be hobbies.

The evidence:

Yummo, Crate Paper.  How I love, love, love thee!  The chipboard and stickers.  All the ideas!  Sigh...

Nathan loves to read I Spy books and an assortment of non-fiction series.  He is quicker than Steve and I in finding the missing items.  He can also tell you more facts than you care to know about tractors and tugboats! 

I sit and listen intently as I want to foster his thirst for knowledge.  Even on the weekend...

So Lucky to be Mom

Today, I am feeling grateful.  My kids mean the whole world to me.  I have the unique and very wonderful opportunity to watch my child in his school environment.  I am not a nuisance and don't intentionally seek him out.  Except for today...there was a special event at school.  Because of my proximity, I was able to go participate with him.  There were smiles on his part and on mine.

Tomorrow, Ella has her dance recital and I can't wait for that moment either!  To sit from afar and watch a confident young girl shine is such a treat!

They really make me want to be a better person, a better wife and a better friend.

I recently made this little mini album to explore and reflect upon motherhood.  I use the Webster's Pages journaling cards for this...so easy to put together with the cards.  Warning:  This is photo heavy!

Aren't the little Webster's goodies the best...the buttons, pins, whimsies!  I am so in love with the Whimsies!   I used the Ladies and Gents journaling set and stickers for this.  This collection turned out to be a favorite! I put this mini together in just one day.  Using my own handwriting, I simply recorded some notes!  I will treasure it and I hope my kids will too.

I am blessed.
Only smiles!

Back...I hope

Whew...looks like we are back...computer issue seems to be resolved!  If it doesn't last, at least I know that I backed up everything on my external hard drive.

Can you imagine losing all those photos?  I would be distraught.  I love to use the same photos several times because there is always a new story to tell!

Wanted to share a couple of layouts I did recently using the Imaginisce line...super sweet papers and I had fun with them.  And, yes, I will make a banner out of everything!

Those little pieces of fruit really inspired me!  I think I am going to dabble in 8.5 X 11 more...shake it up a bit.  It is a funny size...I always want to make pages this size, but then sometimes it just feels small.

Anywho...hopefully all stays strong in the technological department!

Happy Tuesday!

It Has Crashed

our computer...it seems to have disabled itself.

Don't worry, I am okay.  Thank goodness for smart phones and computers at other places. 

All of my photos of people and projects are on that computer.  I would say that 95% are on the external harddrive so let's hope that they are okay!

I am popping in fast to share some Teresa Collins and Core'dinations projects.  How fun to get to work with these products!

I played with the boy's line:  On the Edge, both with the Core and the collection items.

Here is my favorite.  I sanded the gears in random places to add some texture.

I love how it works with the Wii theme!

And on this one, I sanded the stars to add a pop!

Have you noticed that I have a thing for stars!

Flying outta here.  Wish me luck on my computer issues!

Clusters of Goodness

A trend I see occuring frequently in this awesome hobby is the use of clusters on a layout.  I so enjoy figuring out which elements to place in a cluster.  Size, shape and texture really matter to create an interesting focal point on a layout.

When I build a page, I typically start with my bare desk and lay down a photo or two.  Then I start building, going outward until the page is complete.  The cluster is a huge component of that.

See what I mean:

I chose to do a center cluster on this layout!  I don't do this often, but I like the effect here.  I used the Webster's Pages Ladies and Gents line for this!  The flower matches the collection perfectly.  To add more texture and dimension, I used a silhouette and a heart doilie!

So glad I caught this picture of Ella and I at her party!  She is my little twin in more ways than one. 

So many traits and characteristics clustered together!



An Authentic Life

I found this book so many years ago, titled Simple Abundance.  Its message was a simple one...be grateful.  Look for the positives in life.  I needed that as I was just coming out of a divorce.  I was alone and scared.  Lost under a net of who I was supposed to be...

A year or so later, I read the next book from the same author.  It was titled, Something More:  Excavating Your Authentic Self.  It changed me.  It taught me that to live an authentic life is the only way to live life.  I started to document what I wanted out of life.  Who I wanted to be...who I really was.  I set boundaries and dreamed my dreams on the pages of many journals. 

Funny thing...as I was reading those books and undercovering who I was I came to a picnic thrown by my friend Susan.  We taught together for a long time.  The picnic was at her mother's house and we all gathered in the backyard on the brick patio under the big trees.  A buffet was set up and there was a gorgeous heart shaped bowl filled with strawberries.  All the fixings for strawberry shortcake were on the side.  It was lovely and must have made me happy because I wrote about it as one of my gratitudes for that day.

Here is the funny part,  Susan is now my sister in law.  And I now live in that house with her handsome brother.  I throw my own celebrations on that brick patio under the big trees.

And I know that all those boundaries, dreams and gratitudes brought me to this place.  Living as my authentic self led me to Steven.  and he led me to all the rest of my wishes...

I spent some time recently recording some thoughts about that authentic life.  Am I still leading it now that I am a mom and a wife?  I wrote lots of pages about my thoughts on it and hope to write even more.  Because journaling got me here...where will it take me next?

Supplies:  Teresa Collin's Notations kit, Blingage, chipboard and trim from Timeless (this kit is so easy to use to make your own beautiful notebooks)

I added lots of details like ink, gems and mist!  I even broke out the colored pencils...it was therapeutic to put that work into it!  I plan to write myself a letter each year and place it in an envelope on the last page.  And only open it a year later.  I did this for a couple of years back during the excavation phase and it was powerful!

It will lead me where I need to be...

Taking Time to be Silly

...it is so important!  To laugh and giggle.  To find time everyday to not be so darn serious.  I have been in a rut.  And I want out...

maybe silly will help!

Any ideas for how to make that happen!?

Silly for my kids is relatively easy to accomplish!  Nathan has an easy laugh that just rolls out of him throughout any given day.  Ella likes to be a clown so it is a perfect match.

Silly kids, nieces, nephews below:

I thought that Easter Sunday would have been the perfect day to get a photo of the grandkids.  But Nathan had allergies and wouldn't stop squinting.  So I got desperate and told them to just make faces!

At least it is something...

I pieced this layout with all of the varied patterns of Basic Grey papers featured in the Nook May Kit.  I love the brightness!

Wanted to share a FAB deal with you regarding the Nook kits (which you know I adore!):

Sign up for a min. of 6 months and you will receive the May kit for free! Great deal !!!!!!!
Tell a friend and if they sign up email us at orders@myscrapbooknook.com and give us your friends name and we will give you a $5.00 store credit. Good only while supplies last.

Awesome, huh!  Do it, do it...if you don't, you are just silly....get it!

LOL!

His Winning Smile

His winning smile...

brings joy to my life...

it is present every day when he gets off the bus and heads into school, everyday when I get him a snack or let him go on the computer.

His heart is so pure.  I would like to take credit, but neither Steve or I can.  Because he was just made that way...pure of heart, loving, considerate.

He made the school nurse a card tonight...on his own because it was school nurse's day.

He reads people and offers hugs or a kind word freely.

Nathan is a special guy.  He makes me proud every single day.  Because he is pure and wonderful in the biggest way that counts.

I used the May kit from My Scrapbook Nook for this layout!  Love the Basic Grey...it is fun mixing patterns!   Be sure to check out our virtual crop starting tomorrow and going until Sunday evening!

My son.  My Nathan.  He gets the ribbon for the winning smile!

Its Only Grown

The grass, my gardens and all of our trees.  I love the feel of our yard when it is in bloom.  So relaxing and private!  I want to focus on this area this year.  Add in container gardens and make it a retreat of sorts!

My strength and endurance now that I have made the committment to frequent exercise.  I love P90X and the challenge it has given.  I wanted to be consistent...and it has happened.  I hope I always look at food and wellness in this new way.

My love for my family.  It grows every day.  My two kids were waiting for their cousin to get here yesterday for their sleepover.  They sat in front of the door, legs crissed crossed and were playing old fashioned games like rock, paper, scissors.  They were giggling and content.  I just watched from the top of the stairs and smiled.  They were building memories in that moment.  It was a simple one, yet full of symbolism of the childhood we are trying to give them.

Their love for each other grows too.  They are best friends.  Proof right here:

I used the Webster's Pages Ladies and Gents line.  Might be my favorite one...I keep getting drawn to it!  I used the sticker pack on this page to make the side strips!

Some other Webster's products I love are the doilies and the gorgeous trinkets like the Vintage Sparklers and the Silhouettes.  This is the first time I used the Pinwheel Florettes and they are so delicate and pretty!They add so much texture to a layout!

To add that last extra touch, I stamped those butterflies using the Unity Stamps Itty Bitty Dream Big stamp!

My love for Webster's has only grown too.  I am feeling slumpish lately with scrapbooking, but Webster's always pulls me out of that because I don't think that any two pages can look alike!

Be sure to check out the May challenges, both traditional and digital.  They are so fun and you can be eligible to be a prize winner...free Webster's, yes!

I will get back to At Home soon.  Plans to get back to painting and renovating.  I just need to get through the end of the school year.  Summer is on the horizon!

Happy, happy!

Are you Bored?

I might be...

bored with the same designs.  How do you keep it fresh?  How do I feel revived again?  It is a struggle I am having!

I think a busy life has something to do with it.  The kids have T-ball now, which is quite the riot to watch.  It is a crazy time at work.  And the exercise routine is wearing on me. 

Yet, I was driving home tonight and thought, "what a blessed life."  It is a good one...even if the scrappy side needs a boost.

Speaking of fresh,

She is.  In a good way.  In a mouthy way...LOL!  She adds so much pop to my world.  One of the reasons I consider myself blessed!

This is my lift of the May Webster's Pages Guest Designer, Nadia Cannizzo!  She is my teammate over at the Nook and has a unique talent!  I took some elements she uses a lot and incorporated them into my style.  I used the amazing Spring Market collection!  The colors just rock!

Hope you have a great start to the week!

Happy Mother's Day

Being a mom, a wife...

has changed me.

It has given me purpose, inspiration.  It has made me become a better person.

Divine intervention in the purest form.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you!

I wish I could Smirk it Off

when paperwork is late or laundry is piled...

when there is no fresh fruit in the house or we are out of milk...

when I am running from deadline to deadline...

I wish I could smirk it off.

Wouldn't that be easier than feeling stress or being so blurry that I can't even think of an attack plan.  It really is just that time of year.  I need to ride it out.  But it has sucked away my creative energy.

I got nothing...LOL.  (insert smirk here)

Actually, I have something.  Something that was fun to make.

And it features a world class smirker:

I used the May kit from My Scrapbook Nook to create this as well as some add-ons from the shop!  It features Basic Grey...haven't played with that in a while and I missed it!

Off to imagine life without stress...

smirk...

Old Times

An unexpected event this past weekend has me remembering old times.  It has me thinking about how fast times goes and how things don't last forever.

I had to say goodbye to my sweet cat Roxy.  A presence in my life for 15 years.  The cat who sucked her tail when I held her as she really thought I was her mom.  She would cover her cat food dish with my socks.  She was always there to give me comfort and love.  During those years I lived alone...I was never really alone.

We could learn lessons from that kind of unconditional love.  Can learn lessons about how to live in the moment because all things end.  Even when we don't want them to.

Looking back on life helps you to appreciate where you are now.  This weekend brought that sadness, but also brought a celebration as Ella turned five.  The week was kicked off by a Tball game.  These times with my children are precious to me!  Steve is helping to coach them and I love to share that knowing smile when they do something goofy on the field.

It must bring him back too.  To these days:

That was Steve when he started playing the same sport.  And now, he is a grown man with a family, career and a house.

Reliving old times...sometimes it hurts and other times it bring joy.  All of it brought us to where we are now.