Happy 50th Birthday Dee!

The BIG day has finally arrived!  DEE is 50!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Woohoo!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday sister!

So if you have a minute, leave a message here or on the Scrappy Gourmet blog to wish her a Happy Birthday.

If I remember correctly, she added 50 items to the clearance section when our oldest sister turned 50, so who knows what she might have up her sleeve today (if she isn't hiding out from everyone).

And since I didn't get around to mailing you a card, here you go!   Hehehehehe!

Have a good one!  Love you!

Darla

Sweet Stuff!

Here are some photos from yesterday's fun with the Annie, Ally and Hope.

Here is some of the artwork the girls created.

And of course the YUMMY cookies!

They had a lot of fun frosting the cookies.

And Ally finished off what was left in her bowl and in Annie's too.

It was a fun day together!

Here is the other layout I did from our trip to South Dakota in 2008.  I think I am now done scrapbooking 2008 and now can concentrate on finishing up a few layouts from 2009.  Yeah!

That is all for today.  Til next time...

Darla

Bummer!

Well, Hope had a VERY good week, so she earned the dot paints she wanted to buy a few weeks ago.  So after she (not so patiently) waited for me to get up, eat breakfast and shower we went to the mall to get the paints.

We walk into the store, go to where we saw them on the wall and they aren't there.  So we go ask someone if they had any and they were all sold out.  BUMMER!  So we looked around to see if there was anything else she wanted to get and decided to just head home.  I felt so bad, so we went to Walmart to see if we could find something similar.  We ended up getting the ColorMagic finger paints, that are clear and only work on special paper.

Then we went and picked up the twins for a play date.  We stopped and got lunch at McDonalds.

We mixed up some cookie dough and it is in the fridge cooling.  So when I am done here they should be ready to roll out to make cookie cutter cookies with the girls.  FUN and YUMMY!

Well, I finished a few more layouts and will share one today.

I finally got layouts completed from our trip to South Dakota in 2008.  I had made a mini album for The Scrappy Gourtmet, you can see it HERE, but I hadn't made any layouts.

This is the first one I will share of Mt. Rushmore.  This is not the color combination I had in my head, but I like how the pop of brick red looked with the photos and other papers I used.

I also used another sketch from my Page Maps books I got for Christmas.  Loving them.

Well, I better go get some cookies made.  Later!

Darla

Chip off the old block!

This happened earlier in the week, but just had to share.

Hope and I met Grandma Deloris, Aunt Debbie, Aunt Dawn to go see the twins sing at their school program.  They did an excellent job.

So while we were waiting for them to exit, Grandma and Debbie asked Hope where she wanted to go eat supper.  Her answer "I think we should go to a steakhouse".  They both laughed because this is exactly something I would have said (maybe when I was a little bit older).  On our defense, we don't take her to steak houses all the time, but the one we really liked (it closed) had her favorite macaroni and cheese.  That was what she was thinking when she answered.  Too funny!

Anyway, I haven't shared much the past few days.  So here is another layout from our trip to D.C.

This was my favorite layout because of the story.

My dad's brother, Dean, was on the Honor Flight that took us to D.C.  

Flying high above the Washington Monument was a bald eagle.  It was like dad was there watching over us all that day.  It was an amazing site.

Well, I am going to go finish the movie I am watching and then do some reading.

Later!

Darla

Go Chiefs!

This is the last layout I finished up this weekend.  I used another sketch from one of the Page Maps books I got for Christmas.  I love the little pop out cards that come in the back of the book as a reference for each of the sketches.

The photo doesn't show it, but the brown paper is the texture of a football.  This is not a normal color combination I would work with and I wasn't sure about adding the green, but it was just the right pop of color and also represents the green of a football field.

The kraft tickets held my journaling and doubled as embellishments.

Another quiet day, which is good for this household.

Til next time...

Darla

Another Krafty layout

Well, as promised, here is another layout using Kraft cardstock.  It is a single page layout, also from our trip to DC, which was a part of the Honor Flight program for WWII veterans.  This is my Uncle Dean, who went on this trip.

I kept it pretty simple, since again I wanted to focus on the journaling and the photos.

I even pulled those silver stars from deep down in my stash.  I think I have had those almost from the very beginning.  Yikes!  There were more where that came from.  :)

Not much else going on today.  I worked a few hours.  Joe bought a new exercise bike (no comment from me, other than I hope it gets used more than the eliptical we already have).  Go JOE!  :)

Well, off to relax a while.  Goodnight!

Darla

Getting Krafty!

I haven't made a layout in quite a while with Kraft cardstock, but last night I actually made several.

I really wanted the pictures to POP, since they were the main attraction of the layout.

Since I don't have a 12x12 printer, I cut a 12x4 piece of Kraft and printed my journaling on that and then trimmed it down to fit in the space to the left.

The "Passenger Ticket" was a Maya Road Kraft ticket.  Since it was the same color as the background, it didn't stand out very much.  I needed another pop of red, so I sprayed it with Glimmer Mist.  The chipboard letters were also kraft colored, so I sprayed them with Glimmer Mist too for the perfect match.

The small flag pick I made myself.  I found a flag image and printed it out on light weight paper.  I wrapped it around a toothpick and tied ribbon around it. 

The last small detail was the hand drawn line around the edge of the layout.  It just added a little something to hold it all together.  I fit 12 photos on here and they were all originally 4x6 photos with all of them trimmed slightly.  I had too many pictures I wanted to use, which happens a lot.  :)

I will share another layout tomorrow.  Have a good Saturday, and stay warm!

Darla

Boyfriends!

It has been a few days, but been busy in the evenings, so haven't had a chance to blog.

Anyway, had to tell of another funny conversation Hope and I had one night when I was putting her to bed.  She asked me how many boyfriends I had when I was 6.  WHAT?  I just laughed and said I thought boys were yucky when I was six (especially the one that tried to kiss me-"Give me a kiss, baby"-ok that is a whole other story).  She didn't miss a beat and said, but you don't think they are yucky now because you like daddy.  And I agreed.  Then she asked, well why were they yucky when you are six.  I like daddy and I am six?  At that point, I just asked her to brush her teeth.  Good grief!

So, I guess I should elaborate on the "give me a kiss, baby" comment.  When I was 6 years old (in Kindergarten), my mom used to get her haircut by Kenny's mom (one of my classmates).  So she brought me along one day and we went to his room to play.  Well, once we were in his room, he closed the door, cornered me against it, and said...yep you guessed it... "give me a kiss, baby".  I have no recollection of what happened next, but to this day we still laugh about it.  And neither of us can remember if we actually kissed or not.

Ok, story time is over...now on to some scrappy stuff.

This was another card I made from the Fancy Pants scrap papers.  I really struggled to figure something out for the scraps of the die cut paper, but I think this turned out to be one of my favorite cards from these scraps.  Funny how it works out that way.

Well, that is all for tonight.  I am hoping to stay up late and do some scrapbooking tonight, so I might have some layouts to share this weekend.  

Darla

I'd like to buy a VOWEL!

Tonight while I was fixing Hope Macaroni and Cheese for supper, she was explaining how many vowels were in all the words in the book she was looking at.

I am still amazed every day at how much Hope learns every day.  AWESOME!

Anyway, I don't have much else, so I will keep it short tonight!  :)

Here are a few more chandelier cards I put together.  I still have a few more left on the sheet, so some time later I will make some more.

This first one turned out to be my favorite with the ruffle ribbon I added to the bottom.

The chandelier image can be used for so many different kinds of cards/sentiments.

Well, that is all for tonight!  

Darla

CHA-W 2011 Sneak Peaks!

Have you been checking out all the sneak peeks from your favorite scrapbook company?  If not, here is the link:

http://www.scrapbookupdate.com/cha-winter-2011-sneak-peeks/


There are a lot of great things out there already.  Now I just need to use some of what I already have.  That could take a while.  :)

Anyway, here are a few more Valentine cards...

The first one is a bit smaller than a normal card.  It was one of the journal cards on the Fancy Pants papers.  I just covered a chipboard love and added it over the journal card.

I love the second card.  I cut out the I adore you from the pattern paper, the tickets were from Maya Road and the rose ribbon was from Webster's Pages.  Love the flower ribbons they have.  Fun stuff.

Well, hope and I just finished a few hands of Crazy Eights and we read her library book from school.  Off to find something for supper.

Darla

Getting organized!

Ok, My scrap space has been disorganized for quite some time, but I am getting closer to being more organized.  I went shopping today and bought some storage containers, but ended up rearranging what I had to make it work (pulled some out of drawers so everything still matched).  I knew I bought those extra containers for a reason.  :)

So here is a photo of my new organized space.

The bottom row is still the same, but I removed the radio and other "junk" from the upper shelf and added the two larger red totes.  Then I rearranged the bottles of supplies to the middle.

I still need to work on what I have on top of the cabinet, but at least my supplies are better organized.

This is my bottle collection I started this summer after I saw an idea at CHA.  In the Prima booth, they had these cool antique bottles with these crown and other jeweled tops in them.  So I started collecting similar bottles, etc.  Now I just need to add some ribbon, maybe some rub-ons to the bottles, etc.  I will update when I have that completed, which who knows when inspiration will strike for that project.

I actually found these three at Michaels today, so if you like the idea, go get some of your own!  They were actually already decorated so I can add more if I want or just leave them as is.

Well, that is all for me tonight.  I am going to go have a glass of wine and watch Desperate Housewives from last night.  Goodnight!

Darla

Shoe fashion show!

When I got home on Friday, there was a pretty pink package waiting for Hope from Aunt Debbie and Uncle Kevin.  So when Hope got home from school she found it and unwrapped it.  She got SO excited because it was the box of Disney Princess shoes she has been begging for (for almost 2 years).  Her comment was "I wanted these for so long" (in a really high pitch excited voice), "and I finally got them".  I think Aunt Debbie has moved into favorite aunt status at the moment.

So without further ado, here she is modeling (almost every pair):

You can't tell in these pictures, but that morning she wanted to have three piggy tails in her hair.  So rather than argue about how silly it looked I just went with it (she has her own sense of style).  After she put her hat on she decided the back one hurt her head and wanted it taken out.  So she looked like she had a piggytailed mullet.

Today, we went to see the movie Yogi Bear.  I made a deal with her earlier this week that if she didn't have any accidents the rest of the week, we would go to the movie.  Well, it worked, which is good since the beginning of the week didn't go so good.  I had to get her back on track by giving her something to work towards.  

So after the movie we walked around the mall and ended up at Creative Kidstuff toy store.  In the back they had a table set up with Dot to Dot paint daubers (for kids).  She had a lot of fun with them and of course wanted to buy them.  SO, we made another deal to have a good week and we would come back on Saturday and get a box.  I hope we do.

Alright, on to some scrappy news...

I made these two cards with the scraps from the Born to Ride layout in my last post.

Well, that is all for tonight.  Have a great evening!

Darla

Project 12-are you in?

I have recently started following the Scrapbook & Cards Today blog, and came across Project 12.  There is a new sketch  provided each month, created by Becky Fleck.  I love all her sketches and almost always start a layout with a sketch.  Sometimes it doesn't look like the sketch when I am done, but it might have elements of the sketch in it.

Anyway, I think my scrapbooking goal for 2011 is to complete the Project 12 challenge.  Here is where you can get all the information if you are interested.

Anyway, here is what the January 2011 sketch looks like.

Here is my layout and some close up shots of the journaling and embellishments.

The pictures could be better, but it is kind of cloudy out today and the pictures I took yesterday when the sun was out got eaten by an old camera disk (thrown away by the way).

The background paper had a texture that was like leather, which supported the topic of the layout.

I also used papers and embellishments from My Minds Eye, Little Yellow Bicycle, Pink Paislee, and American Crafts (thickers).  The 2 and brackets were cut using sizzix machine.

Well, one month done, 11 more to go!  I hope this will encourage me to get caught up on some of my layouts left to do for 2009 (just a few, which this was one of them) and 2010.  Go ME!

Later!

Ideas for 2011!

Last night I was reading the latest issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine, and they had layouts that were inspired by song titles and/or lyrics.  For several years now, I have had lots of songs that bring back certain memories, some good, some sad, some funny...you get the pictures.

So I decided that I wanted to try and complete some of these ideas into layouts in 2011.

Here are some of my songs:

Waitin on a Woman, by Brad Paisley:  This is a layout I want to create about my dad.  He had four daughters and of course mom, and was always waiting on us.  The video to this song shows a man sitting on a bench, and that is always where we would find dad, waiting.

The House that Built Me, by Miranda Lambert:  I love this song and it just reminds me of my childhood home, so I want to write some memories of home, growing up.

It Won't be Like this for Long, by Darius Rucker:  This song came out when we first started having potty training and severe sleeping issues with Hope, and I just kept telling myself it won't be like this for long (still waiting on a few things).  :)

The Dance, by Garth Brooks:  This reminds me of all the troubles we have weathered through the years, but we wouldn't be where we are today without those times.

I Saw God Today, by George Strait:  The first time I held Hope.

The Breath you Take, by George Strait:  Memories of Hope and how I want to cherish each of them.

Where I'm From, by Jason Michael Carroll or Small Town USA by Justin Moore:  This one is also out the small town where I grew up.

The Best Day, by Taylor Swift:  I love the story of this song about a mother and daughter.  Last summer I changed my schedule at work so I had one day off early and Friday's off so Hope and I could go to the pool.  The first day we went to the pool, she told me it was the Best Day Ever.  It was so awesome that we could have that fun day, and many more last summer.

Your Gonna Miss This, by Trace Adkins:  Again, more memories of Hope and the funny things she does that I will miss when she is grown.

She will be loved, not sure who sings this but it is several years old:  This was our first possible adoption baby that will always hold a special place in my heart.  I still remember her birthday, etc. and wonder and hope that she is loved.  I know her home life is not stable, so all I can do is pray that she is loved.

Ok, that is a lot to complete, so I don't plan on doing all of them in 2011, but now I have a list to reference when I come across the perfect photo(s) for each song.

Here is a layout I actually made last year, but I don't think I ever posted it because it was a gift for Joe for our Anniversary.  I was actually based on a song from the 1970 (love 70's music for some reason) by Orleans, called "Still the One".  After all these years, Joe is still the one for me.  :)

In the pictures it looks like a funny shadow running through the middle of the page, but it was actually black tulle I tied around the layout.

The heart was actually inspired by a card I saw in a magazine.

The papers were from an older Making Memories line.  I only had two papers, the die cut and one other paper.  The background was from Basic Grey.  Other supplies from Prima, Jenni Bowlin and SpellBinders (heart die cuts).

Well, I got off work a little early today, so going to edit some photos and enjoy some time before Hope gets home from school.  We have a play date to finish putting together the Toy Story lego train she got for her birthday.  It is pretty cute and I love building with Legos!

Darla

It's Cold!

Well, there is not much going on here today.  Just work and trying to stay warm getting to and from school/work, etc.  Luckily, the wind didn't blow the snow around too much and cause more problems.

Hope is learning so much in school lately, and she is reading to me as we speak.  So cool to hear her do that.  She has thought she was reading for quite some time, but it was always books that she had memorized.  She is looking at a brand new book, so she is ACTUALLY reading.  So proud!

Ok, now on to scrappy business...by sharing a few more cards.

These were cards I created using the paper scraps from the Valentine card kit I got from The Scrappy Gourmet about a year ago.

They are both very similar with just a few differences on each one to make them unique, but simple.

Well, Hope wants to go finish reading her book, so keeping it short!  

Goodnight!

Darla

Mom, guess what!

This is what greeted me at the door today when she got off the bus!

Hope lost her first tooth today, in more ways than one.  

It has been snowing out all day today, and during the afternoon recess they decided to go outside for a little bit.  Well, she said it fell out and she lost it in the snow.  I couldn't help but giggle just a little in how she said it.  I told her we would just write a note to the tooth fairy tonight so she would know where to look for it.  

Now her and all the neighborhood kids are playing out in the front yard with the neighbor's lab who is running all over like a manic.  It is pretty funny.  And they are shoveling the driveway.  Gotta love that and all for the price of some hot chocolate and Ritz crackers.

On to the birthday tea party...

This was Hope and her doll (she doesn't have a name yet) waiting for her party guests to arrive.

Here they are in their matching dresses.  Lovely!

Here are all the guests and their dolls.

These were the neighborhood girls before they went home.  The twins had to leave early for soccer camp, and they were pretty tired after a slumber party the night before to celebrate their birthdays.

Now on to some other scrappy stuff...

I saw a card similar to this one in a magazine and thought it was really cute.  So this is my version of it.  The ribbon was left over from a Victoria Secret gift card box.  I also added pink gems to the chandelier (after I took the picture).

The chandelier was from a Teresa Collins transparency, so I have several more version of the same card to show you later.  I did some different things with the ribbon and put on different sentiments to put my own spin on it.  I will share those later after I get a chance to take pictures of them.  

Here it is with the gems.  It just gives it a little more shine.  

I better go check on the kids.  Have a good night and stay warm!  I am hoping for a snow day tomorrow, so keeping my fingers crossed.

Darla