Happiness

There is no doubt that our kids are the center of our universe.  We get out of the house early to go to swim lessons, we go to see Brave on a rainy day.  We plan their birthdays to be grand affairs and we put an emphasis on school.

When you get those looks across the pool like, "Did you see that?" or get those great report cards, it is worth it. 

I made this layout to document my daughter's recent birthday party...it was a fairy party and I worked my you know what off to make it fabulous.

I used Pebbles to create this...I don't have much left over from my guest designer stint...It is super easy to work with so I worked with it a lot!  I love these dimensional butterflies and wanted them to float around the layout to go with the fairy theme. 

Some simple layering of the dimensional stickers creates a flower box effect!

At the end of the day, their happiness is my happiness!

Monday's Musings: My Guy

I had the pleasure of spending the day yesterday with my besties.  We talked a lot about our children and had plenty of time to interact with Tina's triplets.

Triplet boys.  All dressed in little suits and ties.  Triplet boys who loved their french fries and were all over the place.  I was in awe of her.  They were so cute it made me smile.

It made me think of my guy.  My Nathan.  The 7 year old with the heart of a grown man.  He is loyal and loving and selfless.  We have to tell him that it is okay to not rescue his sister when she is in trouble or not to feel the need to cheer me up on a bad day.  He does it because he loves.

We had a mommy/son date recently and I love to talk to him.  Nathan loves to learn and reads constantly.  He is not very good at baseball and still cries too easily, but we all have our stuff.

I took a photo of us that night using Instagram.  I think you can tell that we both loved our time together.

I used Pebbles here...I am really into monochromatic lately with that punch of color.  I think tone on tone makes you think about texture more.

I created the banners by cutting the cute little toothpick flags and tucking them under the other embellishments. 

My guy.  I adore him and can't wait to continue our talks.  I have a feeling they will only get better.

Tuesday's Tip: Polar Opposite

I am a bit of a routined scrapper.  I am attracted to the same basic configuration of things including paper placement, photo clusters and embellishment spots.  I am most drawn to two photos, overlapping with one on a tilt.  I usually start right there when I am beginning a page.  I never sketch or plan, I just go.

Recently, I grabbed two photos of my daughter and grouped them.  And then I stopped myself.  Boring, I think I said out loud.  Predictable.  Do you want everything to look exactly the same? It is so static. (yes, these are the rants that occur in the head sometimes.)

I decided to put my photos on opposite sides of my layout.  Whoa...huge risk for me.  Some of you may be giggling at me.  But I am a linear girl.  I usually love predictable.

Here is what I created.

When I made the decision to have my photos be on opposite ends, I knew I still needed to ground things...connect them.  It wouldn't feel right otherwise.  So I brought in the garland.  The curves add a bit of movement (ha, not so static now!).  And they lead the eye from one photo to another. 

Then I added other details.  I wanted one of the photos to be the focal point so I clustered the embellishments in the lower corner.  Did you notice these are outside of my rectangle.  How about that for stepping out of the box?!

All products are from Pebbles, Inc.  I used the Fresh Goods line for this...I am so in love with that collection!

I ended with some repeating elements like the Kraft and blue flower.  One sits on each side of the page, going with the opposite theme.

I ended up being really comfortable with the polar opposite approach.  Maybe I will try it again!

Good Family Times

We had such a good day yesterday...Ella and me.  We hung out.  She scrapped her own page and told her first story on paper.  I spoke all day with a quiet and patient voice.  She was helpful and loving.

Today, when I got home from being out all day, I walked into a moment of Steve and the kids playing hide and seek.  You could tell they had been playing for a while...counting and secret signals were happening.  And I giggle out loud. 

Happy kids.  I love it.  It means the world to me.  They don't always have to be happy, especially when they make the wrong choices.  I know they won't be happy during times of loss.  But they will always be grounded in love.

I guess a long weekend free of stress and full of hockey games, date nights and warm days helps create good family times.

I want those times to go on and on.  I want our kids to love each other as much as we love them.  Hence, this memory captured...they might fight and bicker.  But there is love under that.

The story behind this page:

 They are pretty super. 

Monday's Musing: Love

Love...it is a crazy thing.  Strong and fierce, yet stable and quiet.  So sure, yet ebbing and flowing naturally as two people navigate life together.

I have had the chance to have some conversations about love lately.  You can feel it for someone, but not have it be quite right.  When love comes in that form, it is tricky.  Your heart might want one thing, but it is not meant to be.  There is that question, the not-sure, the nagging feeling.  I have felt that a few times in life.

And then, one day...it is clear, quiet, sure.  and you just have a knowing.  a contentment.  It is not perfect, but it is sure.  It is not full of roses and bubbles, but it is steadfast.  And when you both have the feeling and that belief, there is nothing else like it in the world.

That is Steven.

my sure, my steadfast, my ebb and flow, my quiet

except for when we are arguing or bantering!  LOL!  We have this teasing thing...this back and forth.  I see him the same way with his friends so I like that we can hang in the same way.  Sometimes, our banter makes other comfortable.  Sometimes, our banter turns into arguing...issues come forth.  We are heated like that.  There are things about him that make me want to scream and I know he feels the same about me. But that dissolves and we are left,

sure, steadfast, quiet...

I made this layout to document our banter, a component of who we are.  I hope we keep that playfulness with each other.  That we continue to be friends too.

Many of you stopped by the Pebbles blog this week and saw this layout!  Thanks for all the lovely comments!   I used the With Love collection here!  I love those speech bubbles!

I placed my journaling on them!  Our story...or at least part of it!  Because along with what we have accomplished, there is so much more to look forward to!

I know in my heart that all the hurt that came before led me right here...

in love with my sure, my steadfast, my quiet.

Be My Guest: Pebbles, Inc

I did a happy cheer when Lynn from Pebbles contacted me about being a guest designer.  I have had the opportunity to work with Lynn on the Pink Paislee and My Scrapbook Nook teams...she is soo sweet and talented!  She let me know a package would be on the way and wow!...was I excited when I opened the box!  Two beautiful collections were sent:  With Love and Fresh Goods.  I started scrapping on the spot and didn't put stuff down until I was 4 projects in!  The two collections coordinate beautifully and...

I love chipboard, the flags, the buttons and the paper designs!  I created this for one of my projects:

It is a mini album that records all of our favorite things 2012...our TV shows, family activities, foods, pasttimes!  I made one of these a couple of years ago and it is fun to compare how things have changed or not!  I created this mini from these Kraft envelopes:

It was fairly easy to do and makes a fun keepsake!  And all the little embellishments makes it easy to decorate and add dimension!

For a tutorial on how to construct this album, visit the Pebbles blog!  All the inside pages are shown as well! 

Go check out the Pebbles blog before the end of the weekend to have a chance to win a prize package from Pebbles!  It is as simple as leaving a comment!

I have other projects I will be sharing here in the next few days! 

Happy Friday!