Card 17 - Happy Father's Day

This card was originally going to be the Father's Day card Hope and I were going to give to Joe.  Then once I decided to get him a golf card (prepaid to golf at 3 courses) then I made a different card.

The card base was from Cosmo Cricket, and the other scraps I am not sure.  I just thought they all went together very nicely.  The chipboard star was die cut using the Sizzix star die from Stampin Up.  Since the inside of the card had cowboys on it, I decided to use a neutral color on the inside.

For Father's Day, we met some friends from out of town at a local furniture store.  They were coming into town to look for a new bedroom set and we needed bar stool for the kitchen.  We didn't have any luck, so we headed to the mall to eat lunch at The Cheese Cake Factory.  YUM!

Now I need a nap after eating the cheesecake we brought home with us!  :)

Darla

Card 16 - For you

This is the last card I made from the My Minds Eye scraps.  I used a cream cardstock card base, and just added tulle and Prima flower.   I punched a label using the Stampin up punch, trimmed the top edge and added my sentiment.  Very easy!

 I love so many lines from My Minds Eye.  I was planning out some pages today for layouts I will create (at a crop at a later date).  They are always so easy to use as all the papers are so beautiful.  

Anyway...on to other news.  We bought a NEW car today, and I mean NEW!  We have never bought new before, so this was very different from any other car purchase we have ever made.  We ordered a 2011 Ford Edge.  It should be here in late July or early August.  Unfortunately, the car is for Joe and I still get to drive the van, but it is still fun.  He is going to let me drive it once in a while, I think.  :)

So after we bought the car, we went to one of my favorite scrapbook stores, called Memory Bound.  It is located in Ankeny, Iowa, so if you are ever in the area I highly recommend making a stop.  Anyway, I picked up some goodies and got to scrapbook for a little while this afternoon.

Now I am on my way to pick up the kiddo from my sisters house.  I had her girls yesterday so she took Hope for the day.  Luckily Grandma D is there to help out too.

Well, I hope everyone had a great Saturday!  

Darla

Card 15 - Butterfly and Glitter

Ok, here is another card using the scraps from My Minds Eye.  This time I added Pearls (Archivers), Stick Pins (Making Memories), Chipboard Frame (Tattered Angels), Butterfly die (Sizzix-Stampin Up) and Glitter (Stampin Up).

To make the straight glitter edge, I used thin red Tacky Tape all around the edge of the cardstock.  Then I just took off the top layer and sprinkled on the glitter.  SO EASY!  I was very sparkly after completing all these cards with glitter.  :)

Today it was rainy off and on again.  Hope graduated from Safety Town this morning.  She had a blast going each morning this week to learn about various safe practices (stop signs, playing, riding the school bus, etc.).  All the kids recited the poems and songs they learned about safety and they had a slide show of photos from the week.

Grandma Deloris was able to come with me to the graduation, and then we had lunch and did some shopping.  

Joe looked at my purse the other day and said, "I can't believe I am going to tell you this, but you need to get a new purse".  I laughed.  I am not usually into buying things like purses, but I have been looking for one for a while now.  I pulled out an old one from the shelf because I didn't like the last one I bought.  So today on our shopping trip I found a great purse.  It is pink and has bling.  :)  I also found a little black dress that I wasn't looking for at all but the price was right and can be worn to work or for dressier occasions.

My favorite purchase today was two more pairs of Sketcher tone-up flip flops.  If you haven't tried these shoes, they are AWESOME!  I have never been able to wear flip flops because they hurt my feet.  Well, these actually have an arch support and are the BEST!  So they were on sale.  I got a pair of black ones, and paid for them.  Then I went back to the shelf and saw that the white ones were $10 cheaper than the black ones, so I got those too.  They didn't have them in my size, but at Famous Footwear they have free home delivery.  This is a GREAT service, and I can't wait to get my new shoes next week!

We also picked up the twins (Annie/Ally) and took them with us to see Toy Story 3.  It was a very cute movie, and I must admit I even shed a few tears at the end.  If you have younger kids, I highly recommend it.

Now all three girls are playing and Grandma D and I are enjoying some peace and quiet (with the exception of the occasional outburst from the toy room).  After seeing Toy Story 3, I hope the toys are being enjoy being played with).  :)

Have a great night!

Card 14 - (butterfly) Happy Birthday

This is another simple card made from the My Minds Eye papers.  Love it!

I die cut the card from the largest Spellbinders label, making sure to have the fold just inside the die.  I tied gold tulle around the top.  I added the rubon to a scrap piece of pink cardstock and trimmed one end to look like a banner.  I added the gold glitter (stampin up) to the butterfly (Maya Road) for my final detail of the card.

Hope and I went to the pool again late this afternoon and had a great time!  It is nice to get to go after I get off work because it isn't as busy then and we can ride the lazy river as long as we want to.  :)

Hope is also having an exceptionally good week.  She is going to Safety Town this week where she learns about safety and the rules of riding the bus to school, etc.  I hope this is exactly what she needed to encourage her to not have accidents.  She hasn't had any this week, and it has been such a relief!  

Anyway, I hope everyone has a nice evening!

Darla

Card 13 - blank notecard

OK, here is another die cut card using the scraps from My Minds Eye.  I used the largest Spellbinders label die cut to make the card.  You want to make sure you leave one edge just inside the die, which is where your card will fold.  I cut a smaller label for the center paper.

The flower is from Melissa Francis.  It was originally white/cream, and I used 3 shades of Copic pink markers (RV10, RV 11 and RV 13) to color the flower to match my card.  Finally, I just tied sheer ribbon around the center of the card and tied a knot through the center of the flower.

The inside is blank, so this card could be used for anything, once I decide who the special person will be to receive it.  :)

Well, after more rain this morning, the sun finally decided to come out.  And boy did it get steamy out!  Wow!

Anyway, I hope you all had a great day and enjoy your evening.  I don't have to cook tonight, and I am hoping to do a little scrapbooking later on.  

Darla

Cards 11 & 12 - Thanks so much & Friend

Here are two similar cards I created using scraps from a set of layouts I created earlier this year.

They are both similar to each other, with just small differences.  The papers were from My minds Eye,  Butterfly die-sizzix (Stampin Up), Pearls-Kaiser Craft, Gems-Archivers and Misc.-rubons, buttons and twine.

I loved these papers and just had to make something very special with the scraps.  I have several other cards using the same scraps I will share later this week. 

I hope everyone is staying dry where you are.  It has rained every day for several days, and there are all kinds of flood warnings here in Iowa.  At least none of the storms have been severe with tornados, etc.  I think it is supposed to rain every day this coming week.  I hope we get to see the sun a little bit!  

Hope and I did finally make it to the pool last Wednesday.  It was a little cold since it had rained a lot the day before, but it still was a lot of fun.

Enjoy what is left of the weekend!

Darla

Card 10 - Embossed Happy Birthday

I feel a pattern going on here!  This card was also super easy to make.

I used the Stampin Up Medallion background stamp with the embossing ink.  I then sprinkled on red embossing powder and used a heat gun to set the powder.  Once it cooled off, I added the black gems and stamped a sentiment.  You could use this basic card for any occasion, depending on the sentiment you added to it. 

This card was inspired by a thank you card submitted to Paper Crafts magazine, by Mary Bieber.

I didn't get my "happy birthday" stamped on very straight, so that is probably why I am always hesitant to stamp on my projects.  I guess I just need to practice more.  :)

On a side note, I have been working on a new project for The Scrappy Gourmet this past week.  It is a summer mini-album using the Pink Paislee 365 degree line.  I love the colors of this line and it goes great with all kinds of summer pictures.  I was waiting for my most recent order of pictures from Shutterfly to arrive (which arrived yesterday) and I can finish up the last of the project.  Can you believe I hadn't ordered pictures since the end of 2009.  That was a lot of pictures, including Disney.  It was exciting to look through all the pictures from Hope's birthday, Easter, Disney, Graduation and everything in between.

Darla  

Card 9 - Smile!

Ok, I am finally to the last card I made with the We R Memory Keepers scrap papers.

Here it is.  Again, this one was pretty easy too.  Everything except the gems were from WRMK.  

Well, the weekend is over and back to work my normal schedule this week.  No more holidays or vacations, etc. for a while.  BUMMER!

Darla

Card 8 - Thanks!

This card was SUPER easy!

All I had to do was put on the chipboard word, draw lines with a black pen, and add gems.  EASY and FAST!  :)

Ok, not much time today, so fast is good right!  Later!

Darla

Card 7 - U R Wonderful

Happy Saturday!

Well, Hope and I didn't get the chance to go to the pool yesterday since it didn't open until 4pm (all the lifeguards were still in school because of all the snow days this summer)  Crazy!

So she went to preschool/daycare and I cleaned the house and worked on purging some of my scrapbook supplies to give to a friend.

Anyway, here is today's card.

I love how all the bright colors just came together to make this such a cheery card.  All the paper, chipboard word and large grommet were from We R Memory Keepers.  The glitter letter stickers were from Memory Makers, and I added red tulle, a button and a gem.

I have 2 more cards to share from this group of scraps, so keep checking back.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Darla

Card 6 - Super Star

I really stretched my scraps from this paper line and created some fun cards.  This card I mixed in some Basic Grey (green background).  I also cut the chipboard sticker to fit onto a standard card size.

I also love to use BLING, so I just had to add a little to the card for that extra added touch.  As I finished up the card, it still "needed something".  So I used a fine tip black pen and drew a border around the outside of the card.  That one small simple detail really made the whole card come together.

I am so excited that this summer I am going to have Friday's off.  So Hope and I are going to be heading to the pool on those days.  I can't wait.  I think we are going to get a family pass, so we can go in the evenings  and weekends too if we want to.  I remember growing up (at least in Jr & Sr. HS) I practically lived at the pool, which is pretty amazing considering we lived in the country about 15 miles from the closest pool.  Before I could drive, my mom would take me to the pool, and once I could drive, I was there everyday.  There are a lot of songs I hear from the 80's that remind me of those days.  Ah, the memories...

So, here are to the memories I wish to create with Hope this summer!  Make a SPLASH!

Darla 

Card 5 - Happy Birthday die cut card

This card was really fun to make.  I used the Stampin Up scallop circle Sizzix die to cut the card.  Fold your paper in half and make sure a small portion at the fold is on the inside of the die cut shape.  When you put it through your die cut machine, you will have a card cut for you.

This was inspired by a card submitted by Kim Moreno (Many Thanks) submitted to Cards Magazine.

The papers are still scraps from the We R Memory Keepers line mentioned previously.  I also used a flower from Prima and the brad was from Spare Parts.  The ribbon was recycled from a Victoria Secret purchase.  I think I got the ribbon to go with a gift box for a gift card at Christmas time.  :)

Making a shaped card was easy and a lot of fun.  I have a few more to share with you in the future.  Stay tuned for more cards....

Darla

Card 4 - BFF

Here is the second card I created using the scraps from We R Memory Keepers.  For this card, I also included a left over chipboard sticker and one of the large grommets that matched the papers.

This card could be used for many different things, since I didn't add a sentiment inside the card.  So I could send this card for a birthday of one of my BFF's, or a thank you card, or maybe even just thinking of you kind of card.  I like to have lots of cards like that on hand, because you just never know when you might need a card like this to send to a friend that just needs a "pick me up".

I have one more fun card to share using the same paper line, so check back tomorrow!

Have a great day!

Darla

Card 3 - Happy Birthday

These were scraps I had left over from the We R Memory Keepers papers I used for a project I made at The Scrappy Gourmet.  I also mixed in some of the exclusive We R Memory Keepers line offered by Archivers, since most of the colors matched the other line by the same company.  I love the bright colors, and knew they would be perfect for birthday cards.  

This card was inspired by a card submitted by Kim Moreno to Cards Magazine.  At the retreat (where I made this card), I received some birthday stickers and they were a perfect match with these papers.

On a side note, when I look through my magazines, I mark them with a post-it note to be cut out when I get the chance.  Usually, about once a month, I go through the magazines and cut out the pages I have marked.  Sometimes I like the entire card/layout, and other times it may be how the title was done, or a certain border/embellishment that I like.  After I cut out the pages, I use a 3-hole punch and add them to a binder.  I have the binder separated out into different categories:  titles, embellishments, tags, cards, borders, photo frames, mini albums, sketches, etc.

I draw a lot of inspiration from my binders.  I like to plan out my scrapbook pages when I am feeling creative, but still use various ideas from the pages I cut from the magazines.  So if you don't know what to do with all those old magazines, start going through them to find ideas and only keep the parts that really inspire you.  After I cut out the pages, I pass them on to my friends at work (who also scrapbook), so they might find something that inspires them too!

Happy Creating!

Darla

Memorial Day

Today I want to thank all of those who are currently serving or have served our country to protect our freedom.  Thank you for your service.

Last fall I had the opportunity to go on a Freedom Flight, sponsored by by husband's employer, Hy-Vee Food Stores.  The Freedom Flight takes WW II veterans to see their war memorial in Washington D.C.  My uncle went on the same trip we volunteered to help with.  It was so moving to see how much the veterans enjoyed the trip.

Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Above, is my Uncle Dean.  He was a pilot in WW II.  He flew in multiple missions in Europe until the end of the war.

This was the WW II monument.

There are 4000 gold starts on the Freedom Wall, which commemorate the more than 400,000 Americans who gave their lives in WW II. 

The U. S Capital.

Washington Monument

We got to see the last changing of the guard for the day at Arlington National Cemetery.

I hope everyone has a safe Memorial Day!

Darla

Card 2- Celebrate

As promised, here is the second card using the My Minds Eye paper.  The green is Kaiser Craft paper.  I used the Stampin Up butterfly & top note Sizzix die cuts, and Kaiser Craft & Jenny Bowlin pearls/pins.

This was inspired by a card submitted by Lynnette Kauffman to Cards Magazine. 

Again, this was a super easy card to create.  If you didn't want the bulk of the stick pins for the butterfly antenae, you could just use ribbon (& tie knots in the ends, or just a pen to draw in the details).

OK, that is all I have for today.  Have a great day, and check back in tomorrow for some VERY colorful cards.  They were a lot of fun to create. 

Darla 

Card 1-Thanks a Bunch

Happy Saturday!

As I mentioned in my previous posts, I spent a weekend a scrapbook retreat in the WI, Dells.  I typically have several layouts and/or projects planned out to work on over the weekend to make the most of my time there.  Well, with our trip to Disney I just didn't have the time to get anything planned out.  So I decided that I was just going to take scrap paper and embellishments to make cards.  I had been saving lots of ideas I had liked from my favorite magazines and books, and couldn't wait to put my own touches on them.  I hope you enjoy them as I share them with you over the next month, so keep checking back.

If a card was inspired by a specific submission to a magazine, I will try and quote who it was and what magazine it was in.  I want to give credit, where credit is due.  :)

Here is the first card I am going to share with you.

The cardstock was My Minds Eye, butterfly was punched from Chatterbox with the Martha Stewart punch.    I tied yellow tulle around the card.  I used the Stampin Up curly label punch, and used a  Stampin Up chocolate rub on (cut into sections to fit the punch).  The flower was a free gift from Archivers.  I added pearls to the butterfly to give it a finished touch.  It is a simple, but very nice thank you card.

Check back tomorrow, as I will have another card using the same scrap paper.  

It felt really good to use up some of my scrap paper, and I can't wait to start making more cards with my scraps.  It really jump started my creativity and now I want to create the cards after I finish the layout (instead of just putting the scraps in a folder for later).  It only took me 10 years to start using those scraps (ok, I have purged my scraps since I started, but still...)

Have a good day!

Darla

Graduation Day!

Today, Hope graduated from Pre-school.  They were all so cute in the construction paper caps and ribbon tassels.  They each received a diploma and an award to describe their personality.  Hope was awarded the Pinkalicious award because she likes to dress in pink and also practically has the book memorized.  It is one of her favorites.  :

We are very proud of everything she has learned "academically" this past year.  We still have a few "social" and "behavioral" things to work on before Kindergarten starts in the fall.  Please pray with me that we get her ADHD under control and find the medication that works best for her.

After the ceremony, Hope and I headed to get haircuts.  She has developed a REALLY bad habit of eating her hair (which is causing other issues), so we decided to get her hair cut short.  I didn't know if I could go through with cutting it short, but I made it.  It actually is REALLY cute!  How could it not be on her.  :)

So obviously the graduation picture is the BEFORE picture.  And here is the AFTER picture.  She actually yelled across the play area for me to come over and take her picture.  She is such a ham!

Of course, since it was her special day she wanted to go to the Mall.  We played for about 15 minutes then went to see the new Shrek movie.  It was pretty cute and had a great message:  Shrek learned you don't know what you have until you lose it.  Even though life gets crazy sometimes, it is still a great life, and I love everything about my life right now!

And after the movie we had to do some shopping and ended up with "Goldie" a white and gold horse from Build A Bear.  Luckily, the golden wing assessories were 50% off.  :)  

We finished off our day of fun by getting pedicures.  Ok, I had a pedicure and she got gold (yes she chose gold to match her BAB horse) polish for her toes.  We had a lot of fun, and I look forward to many years of fun days together (this summer) and for many years to come.

On a side note, she was very upset that she actually has to go back to her pre-school this summer.  She is SO ready to start Kindergarten.  I am going to have Fridays off this summer, so I am hoping to get to the pool at least once a week and maybe some evenings this summer with Hope.  I hope that is enough to convince her to finish out the summer, which she doesn't have a choice anyway because I have to work sometime.  :)

Ok, I have jabbered on long enough tonight.  I am going to start editing my photos of the cards I completed in WI at my scrapbook retreat and start posting them this weekend.  Have a good night and safe travels this weekend!

Also, in case you want to see some photos from our Disney trip, please visit our Share Shutterfly website to see the photos.  It is posted as a Favorite Link.

Darla

Fun in WI Dells

Wow, I get back from vacation and turned right around and went to a scrapbook retreat in WI.  I really needed a vacation, after my vacation.  :)

Anyway, I didn't have any pages planned out to work on while I was at the retreat, so I decided to take my scrap paper and make some cards.  I got several done, and will be sharing them over the next month.  I hope to get pictures taken of them all this weekend, so stay tuned...

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend.

Darla

What a MAGIC time we had...

Well, the past week we have been having a magical time at disney.  We all had a great time!  I was surprised at the things that Hope enjoy (& didn't enjoy), but overall we had a great time.

I really expected Hope to really get into meeting all the characters, especially the princesses and Tinker, but she just got really shy and froze.  I think the only pictures we have are of her with her hands over her face.  :)  Oh well.  The second day, she wore her Tinkerbell dress and wanted to go back to visit  Tinkerbell, and she was much better the second time around.  Tinker was very excited to see her dressed up like her and we thought she was going to scare Hope with her excitement, but Hope just rolled with the punches and enjoyed the visit that time.

The first day we visited Magic Kingdom.  About half way through the day Hope decided she needed a stroller, so we had a stroller the rest of our visit.  :)  We stood in long lines for the Dumbo ride and the Aladin magic carpet ride and to see the Fairies and princesses, and Jasmine that day.

The second day we went to Epcot.  We walked through each area dedicated to a different country, and Hope enjoyed the Fairy Butterfly garden art project and the Princess Tiana Garden too.  Finally, she said she wanted to go back to Magic Kingdom the rest of the day.  We went to see Tinkerbell Fairies again (over 60 minute wait) and thought Tinkerbell was going to attack you because Hope was dressed up in her Tinkerbell dress.  :)

The third day we went to Animal Kingdom.  We did the safari first thing, and explored the rest of the park. Later we went back to the hotel and swam.  It was slightly chilly since the sun was starting to set, and I was the lucky one that got to go swimming with Hope.  :)  It wasn't too bad if you stayed in the water.  Later I got to go to the hot tub to warm up after Hope went back to the room with Grandma Deloris.

We are so glad that Grandma Deloris got to go to Disney with us.  It was the first time for all of us to visit Magic Kingdom.  Joe and I went to Hollywood Studios (which was MGM Studios 15 years ago) on our Honeymoon, but didn't visit any of the other parks.  I am so glad that mom could come along and experience the MAGIC too.  Thanks Mom for all your help.

The last day we went to Hollywood Studios.  We saw the Little Mermaid show, rode the Toy Story Midway Mania ride (which was a lot of fun) and went to the Fantasmic Show (or something like that), that showed images on water, fireworks, Mickey Mouse, and so much more.  It was pretty cool.

My favorite parts of our trip included seeing all the characters up close,  the fireworks at Magic Kingdom with Tinkerbell flying through the air, and the lighted parade at Magic Kingdom.

We had a great trip and I hope you enjoy the pictures (to be posted soon).