Inkin' & Thinkin'

A Few Announcments, a Few Layouts and a Freebie!

My sister called me around noon today to let me know that I hadn't blogged today and that looked a little funny since I said yesterday that there was more to come. 

Doesn't she know it's Saturday and that means you get to sleep in?  LOL!  So anyway, here I am mid afternoon blogging a little just for you and her.

First of all, it's Memorial Day weekend so there are specials and sales going on all over the place.  Here are just a few that I thought blog worthy...

You may remember that this is where I had my pages printed and I was over the top excited about the quality prints I received back from them...definitely worth spending your pennies there!

Remember how I hinted earlier this week that Pretty Scrappy would have some new designers and that they'd knock your socks off?  Well...here's the official announcement...

Well, with the closing of Digital Candy, Trixie Scraps along with several other designers there had to find a new store to call home and Tracy found Inspiration Lane and she's having a sale to kick things off at her new store.

And she is also participating in a blog train...here's her part...be sure to check out her blog for the entire list of participants.

Now that you've seen some of the goings on for this weekend, I'll show you a few things I've been working on lately.  Maybe you'll find some inspiration.

I spent an entire day with Kaylee's 2nd Grade class this past week and we had a great time exploring so many places together!  One of the places we made a pit stop was at Sandpoint Beach and ever since Lexi got to have her picture taken with the Statue of Liberty there last year, Kaylee has been begging to get her picture taken there as well.  So of course this was the perfect opportunity to do it.

Credits: Beautiful by Delicious Scraps

We also went to the Carrousel in Spokane and there were so many big smiles to be found there!

Credits:  Beautiful by Delicious Scraps

Throwing Some Scraps Around released a new kit this past week called Watermelon Daze so of course I had to create a couple of pages! 

This first page is all about sweet Kaylee.  She was such a beautiful baby and she still is such a sweet beautiful girl today.

Credits: Watermelon Daze by Throwing Some Scraps Around

This is an Izzy birth moment...a beautiful and sad day for me.

Credits:  Watermelon Daze by Throwing Some Scraps Around

Then I decided to make a second page to go with the layout I had created earlier this week with a photo of the girls in Lexi's class..this time I included the whole class and another quote I liked for them.

Credits: Starlight by Sherry's Scraps

Then I decided to reach into my heritage photos and do a couple of them as well.  This first page is my Grandma O'Brien's Confirmation class and I was able to include the handwritten notes she had written and tucked in with the photo.  Love that!

Credits:  Just Jo by Ambowife Designs

And then I stumbled across this pic of my mom with her older brother and I couldn't help but love the look on her face.  It's so obvious that she is proud of him and that she adores him in this photo.  After all, just check out that stringer of fish!  Why wouldn't she be?!

Credits: Just Jo by Ambowife Designs

And then last night I was trying to sneak in another layout before I went to bed and was able to finish this layout of Lexi on her field trip last week. 

Credits:  Escape by Stacey Crossley Designs

And while I was working with this kit, Kaylee wandered over and just fell in love with this kit and begged to make a page so I reluctantly turned my computer over to her and watched a movie with Andy while she created this page.

Credits: Escape by Stacey Crossley Designs

Didn't she do a great job?  I love her art...she is so fun to watch create.

Then since I left that kit open last night, I decided to do another layout with it today before I blogged.  No point in closing it when it was screaming for me to work with it again!  LOL!  So I created this layout about our family.  Just some candid and imperfect photos of us.

Credits:  Escape by Stacey Crossley Designs

And finally, I bring you your freebie for today...it's a QP made with Blissful Moments a new collab created by Creations By Rachael & Armina.  I really love the textures in this kit...so beautiful!

You can pick the kit up here at Pretty Scrappy.

You can download your QP here until May 30, 2009.

Enjoy!

Monday Morning ... Grab A Cup & A Freebie!

So since it was NSD weekend, I spent as much time as I could scrapping.  LOL!  After all, Andy was working and the girls were cleaning their rooms so I had a little free time.  A little.  Andy and I also had a date night this weekend...holy moly...maybe he is starting to get it!  We went to the movies and watched the new Fast & Furious...let me just say...awesome!  Great action, great story, great actors to drool over...it was good!  It was good to get out without the kids even if it was just across the street for a couple of hours.

Baseball games start this week and my sister is coming to visit this week so I probably won't be online much but I'll try. 

So want to see what I made this weekend?  Here we go...

This layout is one I made for a speed scrap at Pretty Scrappy Saturday morning.  It's really a little funky and not my norm but it was fun to create.  This is a pic from our trip last summer.  I just love these three in their hats lookin' all cute!

Credits:  Aqualicious by Delicious Scraps

While I was doing that speed scrap I was also doing another one at Scrapable at the same time.  These are also pics from Branson...my little brother and all of his nieces and nephew.  He is just too cool!

Credits:  Aqualicious by Delicious Scraps

A little later that day I participated in another speed scrap hosted by Trixie Scraps over at Digital Candy.  This one had me way out of my comfort zone but I added a little Robert and all was comfortable and good again!  LOL! 

Credits:  Seriously...a little of this and a little of that.

There was a challenge at Pretty Scrappy that had me using the words to the song Forever Young on a layout and I wanted to keep it simple so that the words were the important part.

Credits:  Early Birds by Trixie Scraps & Brandy Designs

And then who could resist scrapping a Grand Prize winner?  Not her mama!

Credits:  Picnic In The Park by Teri Mayo & Tabby Scraps

While I was working with that kit, I found these pics of Izzy and Marcus exploring on a hike last spring.  They are just too cute together and I love their enthusiasm!

Credits:  Picnic In The Park by Teri Mayo & Tabby Scraps

Just look at this face...how could a mother not love her cheesy little grin?

Credits:  Hey Daddle Doodle by Teri Mayo

Kaylee has been so blessed this year to have Miss Coy as her teacher.  I am so proud of the success she's had with this amazing teacher!  So a little love for Miss Coy was in order.

Credits:  Hey Daddle Doodle by Teri Mayo

I also hosted a Speed Scrap at Pretty Scrappy this weekend and created this embellishment free layout for it.  These are a few pics of a day spent at the river last fall.  Love days like that with people like this.

Credits:  Hey Daddle Doodle by Teri Mayo

Then I grabbed this kit that I've been dying to work with and went to work.  I seriously think this is my most favorite kit ever!  I had a hard time choosing what to work with because I wanted to work with everything in this kit.  But since I couldn't use it all, I used what I really loved and went with it.

This first page is about Kaylee and another of her creatures.  I think I must have a million pictures of her with bugs!  LOL!

Credits:  Wednesday's Child by Teri Mayo & Stacey Crossley

Then there was this really grungy green paper that I wanted to use so I grabbed a few pics from my latest trip to Seattle and went to work...I like the graphic feel of this page...really not something I do a lot but I do like how this one turned out.

Credits:  Wednesday's Child by Teri Mayo & Stacey Crossley

And I could stop there!  There was just too much in this kit to want to stop after two!  So I grabbed this crazy picture of Izzy and probably told her a little too much for my own good!  LOL!

Credits:  Wednesday's Child by Teri Mayo & Stacey Crossley

Ok...so there was one more page I wanted to make so I grabbed this photo of my dad and my niece and made another page with that kit!

Credits:  Wednesday's Child by Teri Mayo & Stacey Crossley

And this morning I decided to make one more page before I blogged so I grabbed this new kit I have and thought hard about how I wanted to use it.  What resulted was this page about my Grandma O.  She truly was the glue that held us all together.  She was such an amazing woman and the older I get the more I realize that.  She had more love in her than anyone I know and I miss her a lot and I have a lot of regrets that I didn't know her better.  She was my Grandma O and I took that for granted.

Credits:  Called Home by Scrappy Shannon

I also made you a QP with this kit.  It will be available for 3 days only so if you want it, grab it now.

SORRY...THIS LINK HAS EXPIRED.

A Long Awaited Sip of Digi...

So recovering from the crop took a little longer than I thought.  I have been so exhausted lately that I've been going to bed around 8:30 and sleeping until 9:00 am...that's a lot of sleep for me and very unusual.  But apparently I have needed it since I've been falling asleep on the couch before dinner is even ready.  CRAZY!  Couple that with a couple of wonderful migraines this week and well...let's just say I have been less productive than ever!  But I did get a few things finished last week and a few more accomplished at the crop so I thought I would share them.

This is my Aunt Karen as a baby...so stinkin' cute!

Credits:  Days Gone By by Lori Cameron

This is my brother, Steve and I when we were sweet and innocent. 

Credits:  Days Gone By by Lori Cameron

My sister...the wannabe cowgirl.  LOL!  Really this was for a costume party but I think she pulls off the hat quite well!

Credits:  Wild West by Crystal's Designs

My baby brother...the real cowboy.  LOL!  These are a few pics from when he won the big buckle last year for bull riding.  He just rocks!

Credits: Wild West by Crystal's Designs

My girls and their salon days...love them!  Of course, it helps that we have a fabulous stylist to work with!  I usually let the girls die their hair after school is out for the summer.  We usually buy the shampoo out temporary hair color.  Well, last summer, we picked up the wrong box and they were permanently died....so we had to do a little first aid and give them highlights so that they didn't look all greased out on top.  LOL!  Thank goodness for our stylist!

Credits:  Softball Stars by Trixie Scraps

A few pics of Kaylee playing t-ball last year.  She loves baseball!  She gets so focused on the game and I can just see in her face how much she loves this game.  She is pretty awesome at it too so that probably helps! 

Credits:  Softball Stars by Trixie Scraps

A Mother's Day Card I made for a challenge over at Pretty Scrappy last month. 

Credits:  You'll have to check out Pretty Scrappy this weekend to find the pieces to this kit!

I don't know what it is about photos like this that I love but I have a lot of pictures of my girls walking with their daddy.  I love how they're both wearing their camo jackets in this one.  I really love that bond he has with his girls.  I remember when I use to get to walk beside him and hold his hand.  I guess if I had to be replaced, I couldn't have chosen a cuter girl than this!  LOL!

Credits:  Moody Monday by Throwing Some Scraps Around

Lexi's teeth are a sore subject around here.  I am dreading the ortho bills I'm sure we'll be paying.  I am looking forward to her smiling confidently though...that will be the best part and most definitely worth the price!

Credits:  Moody Monday by Throwing Some Scraps Around

I love this photo of Izzy sleeping.  It has hung on my wall for the last 4 years.  She is just so beautifully perfect.

Credits:  Sweet Dreams by Farrah's Creations

Kaylee could not wait to hold Luke for the first time.  She was so thrilled to be the bigger person for a change! 

Credits:  Sweet Dreams by Farrah's Creations

I'm not sure how we came up with this nickname for Izzy but it has stuck and maybe we'll forever call her Monkey Butt...maybe she'll outgrow it...you just never know!

Credits:  My Lil' Monkey by Farrah's Creations

Lexi has such a great imagination for building.  I love to see her latest creations.  She is most definitely one of the reasons I'll never get rid of my legos, tinkertoys and lincoln logs!

Credits:  My Lil' Monkey by Farrah's Creations

I love this picture of Kaylee andIzzy.  I took this while we were on a field trip last year and I was so proud of how Kaylee handled having her little sister along with us.  She is such a sweet child.

Credits:  About A Girl by Designs By Mel

It's so hard to believe that Lexi was this little once.  This was taken at the beginning of her 1st Grade year.  She and her friend were inseperable at Soccer practice and we had a little photo shoot one day...such goofs!

Credits:  The BFF Kit by Stacey Crossley Designs

This photo was taken the same day as the photos on the last layout.  I love this one of the girls just being crazy in the grass.  It's what sisters is all about!

Credits:  The BFF Kit by Stacey Crossley Designs

Another Izzy sleeping photo...I'm telling you...you should see the amount of photos I took during her first month...it's sad!

Credits:  Oh Baby by Designs by Karyn

Just a little proof for future reference that I do the dishes too!   Andy is always saying that I never do but I have just one question for him...where's the proof that he does them?  LOL!

Credits:  Oh Baby by Designs by Karyn

These are a few pictures from the first time I was induced while pregnant with Izzy... she was stubborn but she was worth it!

Credits:  Oh Baby by Designs by Karyn

Last year was my first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean...just a few observations.

Credits:  Popsicle Toes by Teri's Thing-O-My-Jigs

I thought I might journal a little about my first trip to Seattle.  I have to admit that even though I love my small town home, I crave the city sometimes and I miss the city sometimes.  This was a treat for me and I loved every minute of it!  LOL!

Credits:  Popsicle Toes by Teri Mayo

My sister and I....I love her so much but I think that we have the same issues all sisters do.  We may be too much alike and that can lead to malfunctions.  LOL!  She is seriously one of my best friends and thank goodness we were born sisters because I probably would have beat her up by now if not!  LOL!  Perhaps someone a little higher up knew that I would need her in my life permanently.

Credits:  Bride To Be by Just Passin' Thru

Believe it or not, Kaylee gave herself this major wedgie.  She thought it was hilarious and Lexi and I could not stop laughing as she hung from the door knob by her underwear.  What a dork...but she is my dork!

Credits:  Bride To Be by Just Passin' Thru

I was looking through photos and thought about how crazy the road has been between these two photos.  In the first photo, I am newly married, pregnant with my first child and blissfully in love with Andy.  In the second photo, I have been married for 6 years, have two children and am pregnant with Izzy and still in love with Andy...although maybe not so blissfully as a new bride.  LOL!  But definitely stronger and better.

Credits:  Pretty by Delicious Scraps

This last layout is pretty personal but I thought I would share anyway.  It's just a few thoughts I have every now and then.

I hope you enjoyed a few minutes away and that something inspired you somehow.  Enjoy your weekend!  I'll be back a little later this weekend with more!

Monday Morning...Grab A Cup o' Digi

Do you know what I love about Mondays?  Mondays are my me day.  I rarely get out of bed early, I spend all day in my jammies just hanging out in my house, and it's my day to just do nothing.  I came to that realization last Monday...as garfield would say, "I don't do Mondays."  I don't know when it started, but I think I will be making it a tradition...no life demands are allowed on Monday.  LOL!

Ok...now that you've entered my little world of crazy, would you like to see some things I worked on this weekend?  I spent a couple of days down with the flu this weekend...head hurt throbbed like crazy and I went between sweating to death to being so cold that being bundled up under my electric blanket on the floor beside the wood stove didn't stop the shivering.  It was crazy but I am so glad it's over with just a headache remaining.  I did get a few things finished yesterday after our digi class though so I thought I'd share them. 

Got your drink in hand and your feet up?  Let's get started.

I participated in a speed scrap over at DDBN forum and the rules were a little more difficult for me because of the photos I chose in the first step but in the end I like the page and that's what matters!

step 1: Pick out 1 face shot picture where the person isn't looking directly at the camera, change it to black/white, or sepia, and then crop and resize it 5 different ways for a total of 5 pictures. Stroke all the pictures white or black.

step 2: Pick out only 1 patterned paper and use it as your background.

step 3: Group your pictures (1 pictures cropped 5 different ways) on your paper. They have to touch at least one other picture and one of the pictures has to go off the page.

step 4: Use at least 10 embellishments, same or different. However, 5 of them have to be flowers or flower like and those 5 have to touch your pictures. The rest can be placed wherever you want.

step 5: Use 1 twisted and twirly Ribbon and 2 twisted and twirly Strings. Mix them in with your pictures. These don't count towards your 10.

step 6: Add a sentence of journaling on something (tag, mat, small piece of any shaped paper,etc.) and attach it to a picture with a button. Oh, and the journaling needs to start with the word You or Your. Make it meaningful about the person in the picture.

step 7: Finish up by adding drop shadows and adding anything else you think is needed to make your layout complete. Then upload it to the gallery and it link back to this thread. You have 1 hour and 15 minutes to finish up tonight. Don't forget to leave your love in the gallery!




There will be another speed scrap at DDBN forum on Tuesday at 1PST, 2MST, 3CST, 4EST if you'd like to join us.  It's always a lot of fun to see what you can do with a set of directions!

And Nicole is releasing a funky little kit this week on her blog called Maurice and if you pick it up this week (a new part each day!) you'll get it for free!  Want to know what's even better than that?  She's teamed up with Brittney and they are doing a collab so you get two kits that are made for eachother!  You can pick up Brittney's half on her blog!

Wanna see what it looks like?

Isn't that fun?!

Well, while we're talking about speed scraps, I participated in another one last week but I forgot about it until there was only 20 minutes left!  Talk about panic!  Well, I did get the layout done and on time.  I'm not saying I love it because I definitely could do much better but I was pretty proud of myself for meeting the deadline.  LOL! 

The rules:

1. Pick 4 photos. You can group them any way you please. They must be 4 different photos.
2. Alter one of your photos in some way.
3. You will need 2 papers for the background, one needs to be solid. Position them so that they are both part of the background.
4. Add a piece of ricrac that touches both background papers.
5. Place 4 different elements in the upper right corner.
6. Journal in the upper right corner.
7. Add your title and date to the bottom left corner.

Now I will admit that I didn't save this page beyond the web version.  I want to rework it and do a better job...this just didn't cut it for me but it was fun to get it done in less than 20 minutes!

I worked with Jodi's newest kit called Solitude last week as well.  This is a really somber and quiet kit.  I love how sometimes you get something totally different to work with.  It makes it fun to CT!  Here's a kit preview:

and my layouts:

Relocated Dixie Girl has a great little kit out called All About The Grunge that I was able to put a few layouts together with as well.  I tend to like grunge so this kit was a lot of fun for me.

And while I was working with her kits, I also worked with one called Back To School and I am not sure if it's because I'm so ready for winter to be over or what but I couldn't wait to play with these bright summer colors!

I also made up a couple of quick pages for the March Madness daily give aways over at Scrappin Freestyle's blog with Ladybug Pages' kit called Summer Love.  You'll have to pick them up at SFS blog though and I'm not sure when they'll be available but they are giving away something everyday so it won't hurt to check in there every day!  LOL!

The kit Summer Love

I also made up another freebie from CW Picket and Company's kit called All About Me that I hope you'll like.  This will also be available over at SFSblog sometime this month so you can pick it up there.

The kit

What I made

Teri released a new kit last week that is called BeeAttitudes and it's a fun and silly kit so I had to make some fun and silly pages with it!  LOL!

I also worked with a kit by Sue Wood Designs called Bertie and what a great kit full of rich textures!

And then I worked with what is probably my favorite kit of the weekend and it's called Fresh by Delicious Scraps.  Here are some cool things about this kit...It's on sale this week for $1.00 and if you go to Delicious Scraps blog you can find several freebies that go with it!  I simply love the crisp and fresh feeling of this kit.  I am a big fan of Delicious Scraps and I always love everything she makes so working with her kits is a bit of a treat for me!

And to complete my weekend...literally finished these pages around 12:30 am last night...I worked with Stacey's newest kit called Summertime.  I had so much fun with this kit.  I love the fun primary colors (and I'm not usually a fan of primary colors) in this kit and she added just the right amount of distressing to everything to make it perfect for me!

Well, I hope that gave you enough time to finish your cup o' whatever and that your feet are well rested now.  So check out the links I've given you, grab up all of those freebies and then either get on with your Monday or take a cue from me and relax for the rest of the day...you're already sitting back relaxed...maybe you should just stay there.  LOL! 

First Spring!

Delicious Scraps will be releasing a new kit soon called First Spring.  I got to play with it this week and created two layouts with it.  I have to say that this kit is kinda fun.  There are so many different styles of elements to it that the possibilities are really endless.  There are bubbles, wings, stars, flowers, branches, ribbons, frames....you name it, it's in there!

Here's what I came up with...as you can see, two completely different feeling layouts from this kit.  It really is that versatile.

Lovely

I was playing with Delicious Scraps kit Lovely last night when I couldn't sleep and came up with a couple of things. 

The first is a desktop background for my computer.  This template is part of a challenge at Digital Candy. 

The second is a layout of Izzy being a little ham.  I just love this kid!

Ok...now I need to go make Izzy a sandwich and get to work on my Speed Scrap page.  Are you playing along?  There's still time!

Miss Attitude

My sister sent me this pic of my niece before I had even had the chance to meet her and I knew right then that this girl had attitude!  LOL!

This kit is from Anna at Delicious Scraps and is called Berrylicious!  Great kit!  It's funky and fun and it was just what Miss Attitude needed to complete the look!  And it is on sale right now for just $1.00!!!  WHOA Baby that is a great deal (18 papers and over 75 elements!)!

Spring Love

Anna over at Delicious Scraps is getting ready to release a beautiful new kit and I was able to work with it today....so happy!  I love the shades of green in this kit and I really love the elements too.  I whipped these two pages out in less than an hour...they were so easy to put together and the kit is so beautiful that it took no time to make it look good!

Love Is Izzy

I am so excited to announce that I will be on the CT Team for Anna over at Delicious Scraps!  I love her kits and I am thrilled to be able to create with them more often. 

This layout is from her latest release Love Is.  Head over to her blog to check it out and to pick up some freebies!  Gotta love that!

Of course I had to use Izzy on my layout!  LOL!  She is such a little poser and these pics were just perfect for this kit.  I love the frames included with this kit...they are gorgeous!